Snakes of Japan
The picture above advertises the snake exhibit at the Asa Zoo in Hiroshima, which is from the middle of December till the middle of January. In a particular year. Not sure which year.
Our own experiences with snakes have been limited to “dead skins on the road between paddy fields”. Except for two other occasions. We went to visit friends in a place called Annaka in Gunma Prefecture and as we approached the house we noticed at least four brown snakes lying on the lawn. Coming from a country where there are no snakes, it was somewhat unnerving.
When we asked another Japanese friend about our experience and if that was usual or unusual, he assured us that the snakes were relatively harmless, as they were more afraid of humans than humans were of them. That was an assuring thought. However, he did point out, that if we drove around the prefecture, that we would notice many properties with high walls around them. On top of the wall was a sort of roof. Indeed, we had noticed them and we had thought that it was part of Japanese cultural quaintness. It turns out that it is Japanese practicality: it keeps unwanted visitors including snakes out. Snakes can climb walls (believe it or not), but they cannot make it from under that little roof to the other side. Call it Japanese ingenuity.
As mentioned before, not having snakes at home (New Zealand has no snakes!) meant that we had an ambiguous relationship with these vertebrates (if that’s the correct word), one of fear mixed with awe. When we visit Australia we are always mindful that we or any children cannot run around barefoot.
We learnt the word へび (hebi) awfully quickly.
We overcame that fear and decided one weekend to travel to a town called 太田 おおた (o-ota, or ohta) and we decided to visit the local snake farm. Fascinating. There were fairly graphic pictures of mutilated limbs of children in other East Asian countries on the walls. Black-purplish poisoned legs with white puncture marks etc. These seemed to be from snake bites of the most serious kind. The serum that this snake farm produced seemed to have saved these lives. We were most impressed, if somewhat sobered up.
That sooooo is not my hand!
Shiny, but no thank you.
Although we felt informed and appreciated the scientific work that occured, we did decide to keep our distance from these creatures on the lawn or anywhere else for that matter.
Oops, not a snake. This is a centipede ムカデ. Just checking.
Snake Festival on the west coast of Honshu, south of Akita.
Goodbye, Mr Snake!
What do you call someone who studies snakes? Answer: ophiologist. Never knew that. Success at the next Trivial Pursuit evening guaranteed. The word herpetologist seems to ring a bell… Google knows all: a person who studies snakes is an ophiologist. More generally, someone who studies reptiles is called a herpetologist. There you have it!
Anyway, we thoroughly recommend that you visit Ota Snake Center, or any other snake center for that matter, and familiarise yourselves with the work of these scientists. The following photos can be found at this address: (common licence)
The photos are of the Ota City Snake Centre in Gunma Prefecture. Many of these snakes have been imported, but they are in Japan, so that scientists can extract the venom cure for export to other Asian countries where such treatments may not be directly available.
We visited the Snake Center some 30 years ago and found their work fascinating.
Black mamba
“Please, don’t tap on the glass”, the sign reads.
Crocodile turtle
The stuffed variety.
This amazing specimen was 7.5 metres long when alive.
アミメニシキへび = a-mi-me-ni-shi-ki snake (hebi).
And there you have it.
In Gunma Prefecture, in nearby Iwajuku Hakubutsukan [Iwajuku Museum] you can also find the skeleton of an ancient mammoth. Go visit Gunma. Fascinating! But that is another story.
Kasakakeno Iwajuku Bunka Shiryokan(Iwajuku Museum) about paleolithic ruins -Iwajuku
岩宿博物館群馬県みどり市笠懸町阿左美1790-1
Lami Japan 
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