Critter spottings in Takayama and Inuyama! (Photo-essay)

In yesterday's blog post, I wrote about having seen bear warning (or, in Japanese English, "bear attention") signs and also having come across snakes thrice already in Japan.  Happily, however, I didn't spot any bears or snakes about in the hills above Takayama or any other part of the country on my most recent trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.  

At the same time though, I was happy to have caught sight of some other interesting fauna -- and flora too -- this time around; and this despite my not having ventured as deep into the countryside as I had done on previous visits to the country (like when I went biking on the Kibi Plain, exploring the UNESCO World Heritage-listed site of Iwami Ginzan or hiking in Togakushi)! :)

Small but pretty, blue butterfly spotted in the grounds of one of the 

temples found along Takayama's Higashiyama Walking Course

 

Another small -- but different shaped -- butterfly spotted,

this time atop a bright yellow flower

 

I also spotted bees doing their bit to pollinate the flowers

 

A different-colored damselfly from the ones I usually see in Hong Kong 

 

 What appears to be the Japanese cousin of Hong Kong's (giant)

Golden Orb Weaver spiders at home in at the Museum Meiji-Mura

 

An exotic looking bird on a tree overlooking Lake Iruka,

the Inuyama reservoir bordering one side of the Museum Meiji-Mura

 

More members of the same bird species whose loud cawing

I heard before I actually caught sight of them!

 

Sorry, but I can't resist including this photo of Puppet Ponyo 

posing with a realistic looking cat figurine found in the 

Kusakabe Mingeikan, a historic Takayama townhouse :b