Japan, Post Ten

Animals in Japan

I love animals, especially dogs and cats. The Japanese have pets just as we do--but tourists rarely see them. Nowhere did I see stray dogs in the streets, such as most other countries have.

Cats are good luck in Japan. The beckoning cat in the photo at the top of this post is seen everywhere in every size. He can be found in versions supposed to bring wealth, health, and a happy family. Don't confuse him with Hello Kitty, who is also everywhere at the moment, but is just a current commercial fad.


The old traditional beckoning cat may have been based on actual cats--like this plump and cheery fellow who greeted us one day.


The famous Japanese koi (carp) are found in every lake and pond, and even in one of our hotel lobbies. People feed them, and they perform a feeding frenzy every time, no matter how many tourists have already fed them that day.


One of the places we visited was the island of Nara, where deer run free and beg from the tourists. One deer came up behind one of our group and stole a map of the island out of his back pocket.


The deer wander all over the island, and there is an abundance of wildlife in every park all over the country. They make just another aspect of the beauty of Japan.



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Learn to Speak Japanese

How to import a car from Japan. Click here.

Click here for Seven Reasons to Visit India.

This series of posts on my trip to Japan begins here.

The journal of my trip to India and Nepal begins here.

The series of posts on my trip to Italy begins here.

Geezer-Chick's guest blog on York, England is here.

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