Little Friends

Something that has been fun while living in Japan is finding all the little critters sharing space with me. There's a greater balance of nature and civilization. It is not uncommon to find plant life spilling out into the sidewalks or spider webs taking over entryways. While preparing for classes there have been a few times a curious tree frog, or friendly lizard have come in to pay a visit. One memorable occasion two neighborhood cats decided to play in the stairwell to one of my schools. This caused all my students as they entered to get overly excited, and took quite some time and to settle down. One time while exploring the woods surrounding Kashima shrine, I found a large rhino beetle. These are actually very rare and valuable, as well as make popular pets in Japan. I left him in his home in the sacred forest. The same trip I found a mysterious one-eyed cat. Was it a ghost haunting the shrine or brave rogue stray? Who is to say? But if he were my cat, I would name him Harlock. Anyways, here is a collection of photos of some of the little friends I've made along the way.