View from one of many observation towers.
MSNBC has called Amami Oshima the Galapagos of Japan. Maybe that says more about Japan than it says about Amami, but there are some spectacularly beautiful places, and some plants and animals you can find almost nowhere else. Most of these pictures were taken at the Amami Nature Observation Forest in Tatsugo. It's a developed park, with trails, ponds, and three (!) observation towers, all being delightfully reclaimed by nature. One of those tourist developments for hypothetical tourists.
Fungi love Amami. They average about 120 inches of rain a year here, compared to about 24 in Chico.
The Lidth's Jay is one of those species that can only be found on this island and a neighboring one. I ususally only get a glimpse of them as they fly over, but I got to watch this one for about 15 minutes.
You have to carry a spider stick as you walk a lot of trails, or you'll be eating spider webs, or worse, spiders. Nothing poisonous, I'm told.
The Lidth's Jay is one of those species that can only be found on this island and a neighboring one. I ususally only get a glimpse of them as they fly over, but I got to watch this one for about 15 minutes.
You have to carry a spider stick as you walk a lot of trails, or you'll be eating spider webs, or worse, spiders. Nothing poisonous, I'm told.
Striped spiders.
And spotted spiders.
Big shiny beetles. They were dive bombing us all night at uncle's barbecue.
We saw at least three of these Green Snakes. This one was talking to us. Picture by Theo.
We saw at least three of these Green Snakes. This one was talking to us. Picture by Theo.
Lizard with tiny legs.
Dragonflies love the decaying artificial ponds.
Strangler fig taking over another tree.
Dragonflies love the decaying artificial ponds.
As do the sword-tailed newts.
Strangler fig taking over another tree.
Spider with babies emerging from the egg sac.
Crab in the mangroves.
Planted flowers.
2 comments:
I like how you wrote that it says more about Japan than Amami... Since I've been here, 3 weeks, I've come to realise people are so backward that I have to spend all my week-ends telling my neighbors not to burn all their plastic in their vegetable fields or on the beach...
When I told this old man it's bad for him to breath this smoke, he was surprised and told me he had never heard of such thing: That burning plastic is no good.
I live in the country side but sometimes it feels like I'm inside a big train station. The loud speakers announcement with this really annoying and inaudible saturated voice is relentless... we don't wake up to bird songs, but to the worse noise pollution imaginable. Once I could hear the voice saying, "care for your neighbors, the elderly etc..."... Moral education you could call it, or a reminder the government cares about our well being and that therefore, if one day, they tell us our beach front needs to be replaced with hundreds of 20tones tetrapods, for our safety, we'll just have to bow and say hallelujah....
NOw I'm planning to file a complaint with the city hall and ask them how come they have the audacity to preach their non sense while turning a blind eye to waste management and to farmers burning their toxic trash. Have they been educated over the loud speakers about the danger of burning plastic and wood veener? Certainly not! This will change with me... I promise.
ABout me:
An angry half breed with dual citizenship and a sense of responsability towards what I also consider my country. If I was just a foreigner, I might say, like one surfer dude I met, "after all it's their country"...
Thanks for your comment. I certainly understand your frustration. I hope as a "half breed" you have the finesse to navigate the complexities of Japanese society and get people to listen to you. Anger can be a good motivation, but confrontation can turn people off. Good Luck!
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