Podcasts about tottori prefecture

Send us a textIn Episode 44 we travel to the southwest of Japan's main island of Honshu and onto Tottori Prefecture to speak with Richard Pearce of Sustainable Daisen – an NPO dedicated to the conservation of the Japanese Giant Salamander and the habitat it is reliant upon. Originally from the United Kingdom, Richard founded and operates Sustainable with his wife and with the support of others in advocating for, researching and educating the public about the plight of the salamander. One of the largest amphibians in the world and relatively unchanged for 23 million years, the Japanese Giant Salamander is under serious threat due to impact of human action. Sustainable Daisen is endeavouring to address that while there is still time.Richard was an engaging guest with plenty to say about the issues he cares about. In an effort not to edit too much out of our conversation, this episode is split into two parts. In this – the first half of our chat – you'll hear Richard an I discuss the Japanese Giant Salamander and the work he is doing to converse both the animal and its habitat, while increasing public awareness. In the second half of the interview – available in a week's time – Richard and I continue onto a broader discussion about environmental and wildlife advocacy in Japan and the challenges of doing so as a foreign voice. I hope that my conversation with Richard sparks your interest in what he and Sustainable Daisen are doing and that he and the salamanders act as ambassadors (of sorts) for Tottori, and entice you to visit. For more information, visit Sustainable Daisen's website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook. You can also learn more about experiences led by Richard on his Bushido Japan website. I hope you enjoy!Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.

The Tottori Prefecture town of Kofu, western Japan, became the first in the country Friday to use an online system to monitor voting at a polling station for a public offices election.

鳥取県江府町長選の期日前投票で「オンライン立ち会い」が行われた投票所、１９日午前、同町任期満了に伴う鳥取県江府町長選の期日前投票で、全国初となる投票所での「オンライン立ち会い」が１９日行われた。 The Tottori Prefecture town of Kofu, western Japan, became the first in the country Friday to use an online system to monitor voting at a polling station for a public offices election.

This is the second edition of The ‘Shog-A.I. Shimbun', the AI narrated news report about disability issues in Japan. This episode covers news reports from March 11th - March 14th 2024. The first news story is about people with disabilities not being paid wages in Saitama, the second is about worries of a potential German measles outbreak and the third is about high wages for people with disabilities in Tottori Prefecture. Episode Notes: ‘Saitama Employment Support Business Closed Over Non-Payment of Wages to People with Disabilities': https://barrierfreejapan.com/2024/03/13/saitama-employment-support-business-closed-over-non-payment-of-wages-to-people-with-disabilities/ ‘Concerns Growing over Measles Outbreak in Japan': https://barrierfreejapan.com/2024/03/13/concerns-growing-over-measles-outbreak-in-japan/ ‘Wages at Tottori welfare service offices earned by people with disabilities exceeds 20,000 Yen for the first time': https://barrierfreejapan.com/2024/03/12/wages-at-tottori-welfare-service-offices-earned-by-people-with-disabilities-exceeds-20000-yen-for-the-first-time/

Richard Pearce, originally from the UK, is a long term resident of Tottori Prefecture, the least populated prefecture in Japan. He works as a nature guide and adventure tour leader in Japan and Bhutan. Alongside his love for nature, Richard is a practitioner of Shugendo, an ancient form of mountain asceticism. In 2021, along with his wife Kazumi, he founded a Non-profit organisation called Sustainable Daisen. Sustainable Daisen's mission is to promote sustainable practices which will ensure the survival of the Japanese giant salamander and the conservation of its environment.

Mel Ok is a translator and project manager based in Tottori Prefecture. He's currently the head of Ace Honyaku and has been in the translation industry for over 10 years. Previously he served as a CIR on the JET Program, taught English, and worked in QA. We talked about studying the language, working as a CIR, developing as a translator, and getting into whisky. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Ah, fruit puns, the highest form of comedy.This week's G&G Podcast features a Master's Degree in Ninja Studies, a ban on screaming at theme parks, and Jon's reviews of the local Detective Conan Manga and Pear Museums in Tottori Prefecture.Man, remember when we did things outside? I mean, I don't, but some of you guys must miss it, I guess. Would you like to hear us talk about Japan some more? Find our podcast here:Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/G-GSpot Itunes: https://tinyurl.com/Ge-Gaitune Twitter: https://twitter.com/GGaijins Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/y5kk5key

In this week's news from Japan Today: Five elderly patients died at a hospital in Gifu City when the air conditioner broke down, a newspaper reports JR West made workers sit in a tunnel as a bullet train passed by them for training, a new trend at Japan’s famous love hotels has customers stopping in for shorter than usual trysts, a son was arrested for not informing police his father had died then living with the corpse at his home and Conan O’Brien and the mayor of “Conan Town” in Tottori Prefecture have traded demands what the comedian calls “appropriation of his name” with a visit to Japan in the works. https://japantoday.com/ Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 This weeks stories: Hospital Heat Deaths — https://japantoday.com/category/national/5-elderly-patients-die-in-Gifu-hospital-after-air-conditioning-breaks Trainsitting — https://japantoday.com/category/national/Bullet-train-staff-made-to-sit-by-tracks-as-safety-exercise Hotel Quickies — https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/'fast-foodization'-of-love-hotels Dead Dad — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/man-kept-body-of-father-at-home-because-he-didn%E2%80%99t-want-to-be-separated-from-him Conan Town — https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/mayor-of-japan%E2%80%99s-conan-town-to-conan-o%E2%80%99brien-if-you-want-the-money-come-visit https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/conan-o%E2%80%99brien-announces-trip-to-tottori-prefecture%E2%80%99s-conan-town

What a great time to be a Pokémon GO Trainer! After the Pokémon GO Travel Global Catch Challenge was reached, Niantic gave us the fantastic news that Ho-Oh was released worldwide as a Legendary Raid Boss! We help you prepare your battle party and discuss move set and defensive strategies to be aware of when you take on Ho-Oh! We also discuss an upcoming Community Event in Los Angeles, the Safari Zone in the Tottori Sand Dunes, and the map overhaul to Open Street Maps!  We were shocked when another wave of EX Raid passes went out to casual players! The release of Ho-Oh - https://goo.gl/UfXx2r In Game Map Update - https://goo.gl/34F9kE Pokemon GO Travel in the Tottori Prefecture - https://goo.gl/gsp7pF Another wave of EX Raids went out - https://goo.gl/YbCtuq Los Angeles CicLAvia - https://goo.gl/1sGGfK Email us!  LuredUp@gmail.com https://www.gottawatchemall.com https://www.facebook.com/gottawatchemall/ https://twitter.com/GottaWatchEmAll https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKF_I5camyHMg-4Hi-7QqdA https://www.instagram.com/gottawatchemall/ http://gottawatchemallpodcast.tumblr.com/ https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/115738176821732158959/115738176821732158959/posts  https://gottawatchemall.slack.com (Patreon Only)  http://gottawatchemall.libsyn.com/podcast   https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-zero/id1120887936?i=1000370004356&mt=2 http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/gotta-watchem-all?refid=stpr https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I5hdkinbvlhxvuuz5w3gez6p3ey Ken – https://twitter.com/ProudGamerTweet Adam - https://twitter.com/phoenixback4fir Melissa - https://twitter.com/supersweetMiss Logo by Seth Hay - http://www.sethhay.com Intro Song - "Civic Duty" by Chipocrite Outro Song - "Little Computer People" by Chipocrite http://www.chipocrite.com/ iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/bn/artist/chipocrite/id412533781 Facebook - https://twitter.com/chipocrite Twitter - https://twitter.com/chipocrit  

Japanese Rabbit (Part 2) - Interview Yudai Tanabe - White Rabbit - Shrines - Zodiac - Japanese Hares - Fox Glove - Sandwiches Feel free to visit the website: http://www.hareoftherabbit.com/ If you would like to support the podcast either visit the link for Amazon, then make your purchases as normal.  I cannot see who purchases what, but a small percentage of your purchase will benefit the podcast: https://www.amazon.com/?&tag=haroftherab-20&camp=228761&creative=536025&linkCode=ur1&adid=0Z1J5SZGFHE81DASKT78& Or you can donate to the podcast at: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4748024 This episode: Interview with Yudai Tanabe: The venerable legend of "The White Rabbit of Inaba" Kojiki version One version of the tale of the Hare of Inaba is found in the Kojiki, the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, which dates from early in the 8th century (711-712).  The legend appears in the first of the three sections of the Kojiki, the Kamitsumaki, also known as the Jindai no Maki, or "Volume of the Age of the Gods".  This section of the Kojiki outlines the myths concerning the foundation of Japan prior to the birth of the Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan. In the Kojiki version of the myth, a hare tricks some wanizame into being used as a land bridge in order to travel from the Island of Oki to Cape Keta.  Cape Keta is now identified with the Hakuto Coast in the present-day city of Tottori.  The hare challenges the sharks to see whose clan is larger—that of the sharks, or that of the hares.  The hare had the sharks lie in a row across the sea. The hare then hopped across them, counting them as he went. Nearing the end, the hare exclaims that he has deceived the sharks in order to use them as a bridge. The last shark attacks the hare, ripping his fur from him.  Ōkuninushi and his eighty brothers were traveling through the Inaba region to woo Princess Yakami of Inaba.  While the brothers were on their way to visit the princess, the flayed hare stopped them and asked them for help. Rather than helping the hare, they advised it to wash in the sea and dry itself in the wind, which naturally caused it great pain.  In contrast Ōkuninushi, unlike his quarreling elder brothers, told the hare to bathe in fresh water from the mouth of a river, and then roll in the pollen of cattails.  The body of the hare was restored to its original state, and after its recovery, revealed its true form as a god.  In gratitude, the hare told Ōkuninushi, the lowest born in the family, that he would marry Princess Yakami.  Hare of Inaba legend emphasizes the benevolence of Ōkuninushi, who was later enshrined at the Izumo-taisha.   Japanese scholars have traditionally interpreted the struggle between the kind Ōkuninushi and his wrathful eighty brothers as a symbolic representation of civilization and barbarism in the emergent Japanese state.  The version of the Hare of Inaba legend told in the Kojiki has been compared to similar myths from Java in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India. Ise ga Naru version Long ago, when Japanese goddess Amaterasu and her entourage traveled around at the boundary of Yakami in Inaba, they were looking for a place for their temporary palace, suddenly a white hare appeared. The white hare bit Amaterasu's clothes and took her to an appropriate place for a temporary palace along Nakayama mountain and Reiseki mountain. About two hours' walk, accompanied by the white hare, Amaterasu reached a mountain top plain, which is now called Ise ga naru. Then, the white hare disappeared at Ise ga naru. The place of this legend is in Yazu town and Tottori city, in Tottori Prefecture (ancient Inaba and Houki), where the shrine Hakuto Jinja reveres the white hare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_of_Inaba Rabbits, so cute and gentle, so furry, soft and warm are one of the animals which the Japanese are most familiar with.  Not only are they popular pets ( there was a veritable house-rabbit craze in the Meiji Period), but most schools and kindergartens keep them ( in a pen outdoors), to teach kids about resposibility and caring for living creatures. It is because of this connection with fertility and abundant offspring that the ancient Asians (Indians, Chinese, Japanese, etc) have long said that there is a rabbit (hare) on the moon ( in Japan it is actually pounding mochi rice cakes).  It seems perfectly logical to me since I have to know that THE MOON has also been considered to be deeply connected to pregnancy and childbirth. Thus, the MOON, a God of Conception and Childbirth, with a servant, the symbol of fertility- the HARE – are a natural combination. Since rabbits were associated with having children, there were various folk beliefs which existed throughout Japan linking rabbits with prayers for easy delivery.  Eating rabbit meat to ensure the mother and child`s safety was customary in certain parts of Japan, while in others ( interestingly) it was shunned- in the belief that doing so would lead to the chlid being born with a hare-lip ( mitsu-guchi, 三っ口). And though the practice of eating rabbit meat before delivery (or the belief that it should be avoided) have completely died out, there are still a few shrines around Japan which are dedicated to rabbits as  messengers of the God(s), that are popular places to pray for conception and then easy delivery. Another reason that hares have been have been worshipped at certain shrines, or in some places are believed to have the power of prophecy ( for example, predicting the weather) is because of a very famous story in Japan`s oldest text, the KOJIKI. Another interesting Hare related myth which has led to the animal`s deification.  At Uji Shrine  there is a story of the Emperor Nintoku`s son, while once fleeing  for his life, was guided to safety by a hare (what probably really happened is that he  followed the trails in the bush made by rabbits or other small animals). That is why a Hare-Deity is believed to protect the shrine.  Some even say that the place name UJI derives from Usagi- miCHI- Rabbit-Road!. On the volcanic island of Sakurajima (桜島) in Kagoshima Prefecture, there also seems to have been a belief in a rabbit/hare deity which was called O-Mimi-Naga-Sama (お耳長様)- Lord long-Ears! An Edo Period text contains thid story:  On Sakurajima Island there lived a large hare which was believed, by the local residents, to be the deity of the mountain ( the island is a volcano).  Because of that, no one there ever ate hare meat. In fact, even mentioning the word hare ( USAGI), was believed to bring on a stomachache. Thus, in conversation everyone would refer to this animal as Lord Long Ears ( O-Mimi-Naga-Sama). Once a member of the Satsuma Clan ( the rulers of that region) came to island for a hunting expedition, and killed an big, old hare. The Volcano erupted. Hunting was subsequently banned. http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/01/for-the-year-of-the-rabbit-some-musings-on-rabbits-and-hares-in-japanese-culture-and-history/ A place related to the legend of the white rabbit of Inaba, one of the most well-known myths in Japan. https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/spot/natuscen/hakuto-beach.html Hakuto Coast is a beautiful beach of white sand. It is included as one of the 100 Selected Beaches in Japan, and is a popular spot for sea bathing in summer and surfing in winter. You can see the pretty pink Japanese rose flowers, for which this place is the southern limit for growing naturally.  It is a very famous place in Japan as the setting of the myth of the white rabbit of Inaba. Now it seems the Japanese love the rabbit, and have many Rabbit Shrines Nearby the coast, is Hakuto Shrine, enshrining the legendary white rabbit as well as, and Mitarashi-ike, a pond in which the white rabbit apparently washed its body.  There is a mysterious legend about Mitarashi-ike, which states that the water level remains the same in any kind of weather.  As a result, it is also known as “Fuzou Fugen No Ike” (a pond with unchanged water level).  There is an island offshore from which the white rabbit returned, so you can imagine what it was like in the mythological age.  It is also a place with a beautiful sunset view.  Supposidly you will have a romantic time if you visit this place with your partner. The oldest shrine of Japan https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/spot/shritemp/o-miwa-shrine.html based on the old Shinto that worships mountains Omiwa Jinja in Yamato, current Sakurai City, of Nara is said to be the oldest shrine of Japan that date back to the age before emperors. The shrine is dedicated to Omononushi-no-mikoto who appears in myths.  Because his soul was comforted in Mt. Miwa just behind the shrine, the entire mountain is the subject of worship. Omononushi-no-mikoto is the god known for saving the white rabbit of Inaba, so “Nadeusagi (rabbit to stroke)” is placed at the entrance of the gathering hall.  It is said that stroking the rabbit will take away your pain.  Stroked by so many people the rabbit is now mirror-shiny. The "Rabbit Shrine" The Higashitenno-Okazaki Shrine in Kyoto, not far from the much larger famous Heian Shrine. This smaller shrine is usullay empty and you m ay be abe to roam around in solitude and appreciate the Kawaii (cute in Japanese) rabbit statues. Only in Japan could there be an entire shrine built with rabbit statues and miniature rabbit figurines lined up perfectly straight trusting that no one will remove them.  This is an “off the beaten track” shrine, and is worth checking out. Okazaki Shrine has served as a shrine for safe birth since 1178, and the Ujiko-sai festival is held every October in celebration.  The rabbit is considered a helper spirit of Okazaki Shrine. This is because many rabbits lived in the mountain behind the shrine. There are many sculptures of rabbits on the precincts (they are seen on pedestals of guardian dogs, in dedicatory lanterns, and above doorways). Notably, there is a black granite statue of a rabbit in the washbasin. This rabbit statue is for the believer who wishes to have a baby. Okazaki Shrine is also a shrine for marriage. This is because the famous heroic god Susano Ono Mikoto, who is enshrined at the shrine, slayed a demon to marry the goddess Kushi Inada Hime. For these reasons, many couples hold their wedding at Okazaki shrine. http://kyoto-weddings.jp/okazaki-shrine.html http://www.afar.com/places/higashitenno-okazaki-shrine-sakyo-ward What Is called the Bunny Shrine, is officially called Jyusozan-Mojyubosatsudo (鷲巣山文殊菩薩堂). This magical place is about a 15 minute walk away from the famous Hachiman Shrine. Just walk upstream of the Hirose River on the Sakunami Highway, then look for stairs that lead up into a cluster of towering cedar trees.   Go up and you will find a mix of Shinto, Buddha, and funny bunny images abound.  There is so much going on at this shrine that it is even hard to begin to explain.  In 1603, founder of Sendai feudal lord Date Masamune built Jyusozan-Mojyubosatsudo.  However, in fact, this place is neither shrine, nor temple. It is a place to worship, or at least give thanks and gratitude to, the spirit of the rabbit. Why?  The real reason would be because Date Masamune was born in the year of the rabbit, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.  As such, there are several rabbit images including pictures, wooden votive tablets, a statue at the second set of stairs, and the massive bunny ready to scare any unknowing visitor that walks through the front gate and glimpses to the right!  Look closely at the roof on the main shrine building and from the right angle you can see some rabbit decorations doing handstands!  Upon a little more research, I learned this is one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animal pilgrimage sites in Sendai.  The Bunny Shrine makes for a few fun photos, is not crowded, and is full of mystery.   http://en.japantravel.com/miyagi/bunny-shrine-in-sendai/26984 Since in days of old, the zodiac system used for designating years, months, days, time of day, and direction was adopted by the Japanese.  This happened officially during the reign of the Empress Suiko in the early 7th century.  Over the subsequent centuries, this system- called ETO, or JU-NISHI in Japanese, gained terrific popularity ( because of the fortune telling and decorative opportunities)- especially in the Edo Period (1600-1868).  Even after the Japanese abandoned their old calendar and started using the Western (Gregorian) system, they have still clung firmly to the Zodiac.  In fact now it might be more to be more popular than ever.  Included in the zodiac is the Rabbit/Hare The only problem with this current image of rabbits is that the animal adopted as the fourth sign in the Chinese/Japanese zodiac was not exactly the rabbit ( an animal which breeds in burrows underground and which was introduced from Europe probably just before the Edo Period) but THE HARE- an animal native to Japan (in several species) and which has played a major role in folklore and mythology. As oppossed to symbolizing cuteness, these animals were considered cunning tricksters.   Evidence of this belief can be found in various folk tales featuring very tricky and mischivious hares.  The most famous of these stories is probably KACHIKACHI YAMA-  a childrens story in which a rabbit cruelly tortures and finally kills a tanuki, which had killed an old woman (Yes, Japanese old children`s stories are just as violent and gruesome as European children`s stories!)  Importantly, hares were also considered symbols of  fertility (as they are in most of the rest of the world). for the reason that they breed like……. well, uhh,…. like….RABBITS (as the phrase goes). Besides being symbols of peace, docility and cuteness, they are also considered to be lucky. This is because the Chinese character usually used to write this animals name- 兎　(another character – 卯, is used to represent the rabbit as a zodiac sign) is very similar to the character 免 ( manukareru), which means to get rid of, or make vanish- in other words- rabbits some believe that rabbits will make BAD LUCK DISAPPEAR.  Just in the same way as when you spot a rabbit in the wild and- in the blink of an eye- ITS GONE! Now I am going to discuss the Lepus brachyurus or Japanese hare.  Most of the information I learned was from an article  By Jennifer Holmberg The Japanese hare is reddish-brown, with a body length that ranges from 45 to 54 centimetres (18 to 21 in), and a body weight of 1.3 to 2.5 kilograms (2.9 to 5.5 lb). Its tail will grow to lengths of 2 to 5 centimetres (0.79 to 1.97 in). Its front legs can be from 10 to 15 centimetres (3.9 to 5.9 in) long and the back legs from 12 to 15 centimetres (4.7 to 5.9 in) long. The ears grow to be 6 to 8 centimetres (2.4 to 3.1 in) long, and the tail 2 to 5 centimetres (0.79 to 1.97 in) long.  Adult Japan­ese hares are mid-size mam­mals with body masses rang­ing from 1.3 to 2.5 kg. There are vari­a­tions in color from a dark brown to a red brown with areas of white. All four sub­species are brown­ish in the sum­mer, but L. brachyu­rus an­gusti­dens and L.​b.​lyoni change their coat col­ors to white in the win­ter.  In areas of northern Japan, the west coast, and the island of Sado, where there is heavy snowfall, the Japanese hare loses its coloration in the autumn, remaining white until the spring, when the reddish-brown fur returns.   Like all mem­bers of the Order Lago­mor­pha, Japan­ese hares have a sec­ond set of in­cisors, or peg teeth, be­hind their first upper in­cisors. Japan­ese hares are en­demic to Japan. They are com­monly found on the main­land is­lands of Hon­shu, Shikoku and Kyushu and most of the sur­round­ing Japan­ese is­lands, ex­clud­ing Hokkaido. There are four sub­species of the Japan­ese hare found in dif­fer­ent ge­o­graph­i­cal re­gions. Lepus brachyu­rus an­gusti­dens is found in north­ern Hon­shu, L. b. lyoni is found on Sado Is­land, L. b. brachyu­rus is found in south­ern Hon­shu, and L. b. ok­ien­sis is found on the Oki Is­lands. There are vari­a­tions be­tween Japan­ese hare sub­species found on the main is­land and those found on sur­round­ing is­lands. The di­men­sions of a main­land fe­male Japan­ese hare de­scribed in 1905 were 505 mm head and body length, 40 mm tail length, 135 mm hind­foot length and 78 mm ear length. Mea­sure­ments from a fe­male Japan­ese hare from Oki Is­land were a 506 mm head and body length, a 54 mm tail, a 138 mm hind foot and a 78 mm ear. The sub­species found on the smaller is­lands ap­pear to have sex­ual di­mor­phism, with the vast ma­jor­ity of skull char­ac­ter­is­tics being smaller in males than in fe­males. On the main is­land, the only fea­ture that is not equal in size is the width of the palate. In gen­eral, the sub­species on the small is­lands are often larger in mass, length of head, and length of body. The sub­species on the main is­land have larger ears, hind feet length and skull size com­pared to those on the is­lands. It has been sug­gested that this vari­a­tion is not due to in­su­lar vari­a­tion, but that the is­land forms are ac­tu­ally closer to the an­ces­tral form and the main is­land sub­species has evolved and adapted to a chang­ing en­vi­ron­ment. Lepus brachyu­rus has been di­vided into two clades and four sub­species. The two clades are found in south­ern and north­ern Japan and ap­pear to be the re­sult of these groups evolv­ing dif­fer­ently in these dif­fer­ent re­gions ap­prox­i­mately 1.24 mil­lion years ago. and the TOHOKU NO-USAGI, Lepus brachyurus angustidens, which is quite similar in habit and appearance, except for one astounding characteristic: these hares turn pure white in winter! Another reason why the ancients might have considered them as sacred creatures. The KYUSHU type live mainly on the eastern side of the mountains which run down the center of Japan. The TOHOKU type live on the western, snowier side. Habitat Japan­ese hares can be found through­out Japan in urban, rural and for­est set­tings, but the vast ma­jor­ity are found in rural areas. They are typ­i­cally found in areas with dense shrub-like veg­e­ta­tion and a low tree canopy, often near the edge of forests. Japan­ese hares are pre­dom­i­nant in young, Japan­ese cedar plan­ta­tions where there is plenty of in­com­ing light and an abun­dance of veg­e­ta­tion. Japan­ese hares are also found near and around rivers or streams. They range from sea level to 2700 m. Japan­ese hares do not in­habit moun­tain­ous areas.  It is mostly found in mountains or hilly areas. It also inhabits forests or brushy areas.  Due to human encroachment, though, this hare has thrived in and around urban environments, so much so that it has become a nuisance in some places. Reproduction The litter size of the Japanese hare varies from 1 to 6. The age of maturity is uncertain, but females probably breed within a year of birth. Breeding continues year round. Several litters are born each year, each of which contain 2–4 individuals. Mating is promiscuous; males chase females, and box to repel rivals. Behavior The Japanese hare, like most hares and rabbits, is crepuscular (feeds mainly in the evening and early morning). It is silent except when it is in distress, and gives out a call for the distress. It can occupy burrows sometimes. Japan­ese hares are soli­tary and noc­tur­nal. When they are ac­tive at night, they can travel about 1000 m in a sin­gle night in forested areas and can cover ap­prox­i­mately 6 hectares.  While noth­ing is known about com­mu­ni­ca­tion be­tween Japan­ese hares, in­for­ma­tion may be in­ferred from other hare species. There ap­pears to be var­i­ous types of vo­cal­iza­tions, mostly high-pitched, that occur when hares are con­fronted with un­com­fort­able or fright­en­ing sit­u­a­tions. Like other hares, hear­ing is an im­por­tant mode of per­cep­tion. It is a solitary animal except during mating season, when males and females gather for breeding.  Not much is known about Japan­ese hare mat­ing sys­tems.  There is, how­ever, gen­er­al­iz­able in­for­ma­tion re­gard­ing other species of hares. Aside from arc­tic hares, which pair each breed­ing sea­son, most male and fe­male hares are promis­cu­ous. Male and fe­male hares come to­gether dur­ing the breed­ing sea­son and males some­times dis­play ag­gres­sive be­hav­ior, such as box­ing, in order to com­pete for mates.  Japan­ese hares have a long breed­ing sea­son, be­gin­ning in early Jan­u­ary and end­ing in Au­gust. The num­ber of lit­ters per sea­son ranges from 4 to 5. The av­er­age lit­ter size ranges from one to four, with 1.6 ba­bies being the av­er­age and the av­er­age weight of the young at birth is 132 g. There is a 1:1 ratio of males to fe­males born in each lit­ter. Within one breed­ing sea­son, a typ­i­cal fe­male will av­er­age 7.4 young. The wean­ing pe­riod typ­i­cally takes place 2 to 3 weeks after birth. Fe­male hares be­come sex­u­ally ma­ture at ten months old. The ges­ta­tion pe­riod ranges from 43 to 45 days and the pe­riod be­tween births ranges from 33 to 109 days. An in­ter­birth pe­riod shorter than the ges­ta­tion pe­riod sug­gests the pos­si­bil­ity of su­per­foeta­tion. This is fur­ther sup­ported by the oc­cur­rence of post­coital ovu­la­tion in Japan­ese hares. At the other end of the spec­trum, there can also be de­lays be­tween birth and the next cop­u­la­tion. Some­times fe­male Japan­ese hares will chase away males with whom they do not want to cop­u­late. There is some vari­abil­ity in breed­ing pat­terns be­tween north­ern and south­ern Japan­ese hares as breed­ing ap­pears to be af­fected by tem­per­a­ture, pho­tope­riod, and pre­cip­i­ta­tion. En­vi­ron­ments in higher lat­i­tudes have de­creased tem­per­a­ture and pho­tope­ri­ods through­out the ma­jor­ity of the year and stud­ies of cap­tive an­i­mals have found that with in­creas­ing lat­i­tude, the breed­ing sea­son, ges­ta­tion pe­riod and lit­ter size de­creases. Food Japan­ese hares are op­por­tunis­tic her­bi­vores that typ­i­cally eat newly planted grasses, grasses at plan­ta­tions, and young trees and shrubs. Saito and Koike de­ter­mined that their main source of food dur­ing the sum­mer comes from the Fam­ily Gramineae, which in­cludes the grasses and many com­mer­cial crops. In north­ern Japan, when these grasses are un­avail­able due to win­ter snow cover, Japan­ese hares eat the buds and seedlings of young trees, often found in plan­ta­tions.  Vegetation found in and around its habitat is where the Japanese hare gets most of its nutrients. Grasses, shrubs, and bushes are all eaten by the hare. The Japanese hare is one of the few hares that will eat the bark off of trees and it does so occasionally which can cause major damage to trees and forests.   Tori and Suzuki ex­am­ined which trees were fa­vored in the win­ter and con­cluded that the vast ma­jor­ity of trees were Phyl­lostachys prae­cox, a bam­boo which is high in crude pro­tein con­tent.  Other pop­u­lar win­ter trees in­clude Acer, Paulow­nia, Acan­thopanax, Ar­alia and Legu­mi­nosae. The trees and shrubs cho­sen by Japan­ese hares often have in­creased amounts of branches and stems, which are typ­i­cally found in young forests. Most of the trees that are con­sumed have high pro­tein con­tent.   Japan­ese hares also en­gage in co­prophagy, or the reinges­tion of feces. While co­prophagy is com­mon in most hares, what is unique in L. brachyu­rus is that it reingests both soft and hard feces, as they are ob­served sim­ply swal­low­ing soft feces and chew­ing hard feces. Co­prophagy is done to ex­tract as many nu­tri­ents as pos­si­ble from their dif­fi­cult to di­gest plant food. There is also a pos­i­tive re­la­tion­ship with the lack of avail­able food and an in­creased oc­cur­rence of con­sum­ing hard feces. Japan­ese hares are read­ily preyed on by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), golden ea­gles (Aquila chrysae­tos) and Japan­ese martens (Martes melam­pus). The color change in the north­ern sub­species of Japan­ese hares, from brown to white in the win­ter, is likely a cryp­tic color change to blend into their sur­round­ing en­vi­ron­ment and avoid pre­da­tion. Due to the large pop­u­la­tion sizes of Japan­ese hares, they are ex­tremely im­por­tant in the food web. They are prey for larger mam­mals and they im­pact the veg­e­ta­tion on which they feed. They can cause dam­age to woody trees and plants when they are for­ag­ing for buds in the win­ter The Japanese hare population seems to be stable; in some places, it has become a nuisance animal. It is hunted in certain regions for food, fur, pelts, and to help curb its growing numbers.  It is estimated that Japan­ese hares do not live longer than 4 years in the wild. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_hare http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepus_brachyurus/ http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/01/for-the-year-of-the-rabbit-some-musings-on-rabbits-and-hares-in-japanese-culture-and-history/ Plant of the Week: Fox Glove Word of the Week: Sandwich