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sidjameson · Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Posts: 629 Location: osaka

Most countries have some famous places for viewing wildlife. Anything from elephants to fire flies. Anybody have some ideas for Japan? I'd like to look at something a bit more exotic than a pidgeon.

cornishmuppet · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 642 Location: Nagano, Japan

Hike deep into the forests and you might see a bear. There are places in Nagano and Nikko which are famous for monkeys, but how 'wild' they are is debateable. The closest I've got is running over a snake on the way to work yesterday. Not too happy about that, but I think it might have gone between the wheels because I didn't have time to stop and there was no corpse about on the way home.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

I saw a baby deer in the wild and a woodpecker (we don't have woodpeckers where I come from so I was impressed) on the Senjogahara plateau above Nikko- not too exciting as far as wildlife goes but it's an amazing unspoiled wetland area so worth visiting if you haven't been already.

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

It wasn't much different from my home state (Oregon), but when i lived in eastern Hokkaido, I saw a lot of deer and foxes.
And like cornishmuppet mentioned, you can see monkeys in the mountainous areas of Honshu.

groothewanderer · Joined: 14 Sep 2007 Posts: 33

maya.the.bee · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 118 Location: Stgo

osakajojo · Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 229

My student saw a huge turtle crossing the street at the cross walk in Nishinomiya. And I saw some chipmunks on a leash, in a pink dress.

Saw some animals in Sam and Daves as well.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Lake Akan and the surroundings have deer and foxes, and if you consider plant life as "wildlife", you might get into their spherical algae called "marimo". In Akan city itself, you can walk along a nature trail and see deer lapping at salt licks.

Roughly in the same area north of Kushiro, there is a marshland where cranes, among other birds, inhabit.

Muroran, on the coast south of Sapporo, has whale-watching boat expeditions, so I'm told.

All the way at the northern tip of Hokkaido are the islands Rebun and Rishiri. Not sure of the fauna there, but summer is great for the flora, whether you bike or hike around them.

dom_90 · Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Posts: 6 Location: Scotland

deer in Nara
Shodoshima monkeys!

Yawarakaijin · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 504 Location: Middle of Nagano

About a week ago a friend and I were down at the local swimming hole. It was just us, as it usually is for some reason, and all of a sudden we hear this rustling in the trees. There we are, two whities bobbing up and down in the most amazing swimming hole you have ever seen and suddenly we are surrouned by about 50 of those litle Japanese monkeys you see taking a bath in the onsen. We just stood *treaded water* there for like 15 minutes totally surrounded by monkeys as they nibbled on the leaves from the trees surrounding us. There were a couple larger males but most of the troop were youngins and mothers with little tiny babies on their backs. A really cool experience.

I have been surrounded by deer, moose, and other critters before but it really is a differnt experience being surrounded and so close to primates. Smile

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

The all-too-famous monkeys-in-an-onsen is probably about the only wildlife worth seeing. That and maybe a crane or two.

http://www.morinolodge.com/_img/monkey.jpg<