Kappa were legendary creatures from Japan. They were always known as water creatures in folklore. Amphibious creatures similar to frogs or turtles; sometimes they are called Gataro (川太郎) or Kawako (川子) which means river child. Some people study them in cryptozoology since throughout Japanese history thousands of people have claimed to have seen one themselves.

People often come to Japan of get their fill of cute. Cute clothes, cute characters, cute food, and yes of course cute cafes. This cafe hidden by the sea in the outskirts of Nagasaki is sure to give anyone their fill of cute in the form of adorable Corgi puppies. Yes the rumors are true, there is a Corgi cafe in Japan.

Many tourists travel around Japan hoping to encounter some of its beautiful wildlife. They might want to see macaques relaxing in an onsen, a Tanuki streaking across the road or even a majestic Japanese deer.

Whilst the Alps do, as one would expect, give rise to a huge amount of winter sports tourism, they also have the added benefit of limiting the number of inhabitable areas within the prefecture. However, the cities of Matsumoto, and the prefectural capital, also called Nagano, offer plenty of sites for an avid tourist to see.

Although it can be difficult to have a pet of your own in Japan as an expat, especially if you live in a city, there are plenty of places to go where you can spend time with cute animals and get your fluff fix. One of these is “Sekai no Meiken Bokujo” a communication park for dogs and people, in Gunma Prefecture.

The Japanese serow is an animal that has appeared in pop culture as well. It has been seen in the soccer based game and anime, “Inazuma Eleven GO”, and it is also said that the Ghibli character, the “Forest Spirit” in its deer form from Director Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke is based on the Japanese serow. Even the ever-so-popular Pokemon that a lot of us grew up watching has a character representation of this animal.

Soft meowing played over a loudspeaker outside the cafe. For me, a feline fan, the lure was irresistible!

Japan is actually home to 8 pure Japanese horses as well as other breeds that have been crossbred with Western horses.

Let’s visit a cat cafe. I adore cats, so this was a great find!

The Zao Fox Village gives you an unique experience to see foxes up close and to observe their behavior for yourself. While it is a little hard to access, it is absolutely worth a visit for all animal lovers.

With Halloween approaching, here is a list of a few creatures that I would not want to bump into during my walk home at night.

I went there out of curiosity when I saw their brochure, but I soon found myself with my jaws open at the sight of a lizard that is almost the same size as me. Yes, an actual dragon!