Critters and creatures

When we first got to Japan it was hot and humid and the cicadas were buzzing like crazy. They were SO loud and you could hear them all day long, oven on lightly rainy days. However, slowly we started to see the cicadas die out- you'd see them all over the sidewalks. Sometimes you'd see them flying around all crazy. At one point a cicada bounced off the ground and smacked right into my face. It sucked. At felt like a slap and it made a loud clap sound. Maybe thats a sign of good luck, right? Right?! Please tell me thats a thing. Anyways, a while ago we stopped hearing the cicadas all together. I almost miss them.

But don't worry, the crickets have taken their place as the noisiest bug I've ever heard. There seems to be a gigantic swarm of crickets living in ever bush and planter here. Sometimes you see them hopping around- they're kind of small and cute, until it jumps right at your foot. They get so loud at night that you almost have to yell to talk over them when you're outside.

Then there's the crows. There aren't too many around here so we don't hear them too often, but when you do MAN are they loud. Every once in a while you can hear other birds chirping, but really not much.

And theres bats!! Cute little bats that flap around at twilight! They're about the size your hand, wings and all, and they fly around all crazy which makes them easy to spot. Most often we see them around the creek near our apartment, must be a lot of bugs there.

And finally theres the pets. There are a couple neighborhood cats around our home. Most of them are white with big dark spots, and so far none are friendly enough to let us get near them. Around the outlets at the train station there are some stray cats. You can tell someone is feeding them but they're not friends so they all chase each other away from the feeding spot. And lastly, there are the dogs! Most people have small dogs like toy poodles or chihuahuas. Shiba inus are very popular too. Other than that I've seen one Golden Retriever and a couple Border Collies. And all the dogs here seem to be at a proper weight, unlike many dogs back home.

Its been really neat seeing the similarities and differences between the creatures here and at home. The bugs havent been as scary as I thought they would be- except for the frickin gigantic wasps... I'll just leave a picture of those here...

K+K