ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Hello, all!

I write this from Onomichi, Hiroshima, where I'm staying overnight after cycling the Shimanami Kaido all the way from Shikokuchūō! I guess it's the longest ride I've taken in Japan (and I'm riding back tomorrow), but it's really very easy. No mountain passes at all!

The ride was full of beautiful scenery, but my favorite moment was on Omishima Island, where a saw a lovely red fox.

Not my picture, I'm afraid. I don't often travel with a camera. But the fox looked just like this, except a bit fatter!

The fox was cheerfully walking along the cycling path. It was almost completely tame! The islanders must feed it a lot. When I pulled up alongside it and slowed down for a better look, it glanced at me and just kept on walking. It was so unafraid of me at first I was sure it must be a dog, but I got really close. It was definitely a fox!

I've now seen every interesting mammal there is to see in Japan (serows, badgers, tanuki, deer, martens, monkeys, porpoises, bats, etc.) except for bears and boars. (I heard a boar when I lived in Nagano-ken, but I didn't see it.) I'd seen a fox in the bushes near Utsukushigahara before, but this was a much closer encounter. I doubt I'll see a bear before I leave Japan, but it would be nice to spot a boar!

What interesting animals have you seen in the wild?

—Matthew