Next year, I’m going to be traveling across Tōhoku, Japan. I’m American and it’s my first time going overseas, so I was hoping to look for some interesting creatures. Does anyone here have some Japanese organisms that they like, or know of any dangerous ones that I should be careful around? I would …

Welcome! There are a few iconic species you might be able to find, but it will depend on the time of year you will be there and how far you’ll be traveling. My shortlist would include the Japanese Giant Salamander (you won’t find this one wild most likely, but you may be able to visit the Salamander…

Welcome to the forum! What things in general do you like to photograph? And what are the limits of your gear?

A friend of mine was able to take a Japanese Giant Salamander tour, so that’s a possibility. But yes, information as to when you’re going and what you’re interested in seeing would be really helpful.

Hi @sundialga , I’ll share something Tony said 6 years ago: [image] Finding experts in other countries? I’ve had a pretty good success rate reaching out to users in places where I plan on traveling, although that could be confounded by the fact that I’m an iNat staff and am more likely to get a …

Thank you! I mainly photograph bugs, but sometimes I like to photograph fungi as well. Most of what I’ll be packing is for work, so I can’t take much gear, so I’ll take pictures with a phone and maybe buy some gloves and boots when I get there. But I’ll have to be pretty frugal.

Thank you for the advice! I’d like to do ID’s, but I’m not professional and I get all my information from whatever books I can find in the library and online. Is it still OK for me to try to ID things?

That tour sounds awesome, I’m definitely going to check that out. As for when I’m leaving, I’m planning on March but I’ll be there for almost 2 years so I’ll be able to experience all the seasons! I’m most interested in seeing bugs and fungi, but I love all organisms :slight_smile: Thank you so much…

i only have one wishlist species from Japan off the top of my head, but it may be hard to find… lichen-covered antlion larva

Definitely! You could start from organisms you know a little about, and try to identify from there. I consistently identify Collembola, which originally just started from a fascination with them. Thanks to the helpful iNat community, I can identify a decent amount of species, so I recommend you reac…

Looking for interesting organisms in Japan

Nature Talk

AdamWargon December 10, 2025, 6:54pm 3

If I recall correctly, there are giant blue earthworms as well

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Looking for interesting organisms in Japan

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