Random questions about Japan

Hello,
I posted some questions under a different name, forgot what name I used (bad memory sorry). Anyway. I have noticed on some trainstations there is a recurring sound which is heard all over the station. First I heard it at Kagoshima-chuo and today at Okayama. It goes like ding (following a five second or so pause) dong and keeps on like that. I thought it was some warning or something but no one seem to care. Just rather curious but didnt have time to ask the station staff.

This might be hard to answer but I noticed on the 21.00 NHK G news this evening there is an exhibition of some plastic figures in a miniature town going on right now (until the 30th if I read it alright). They mentioned the name Umi-chan but I did not make out which city this was exhibited in.
If anyone saw this broadcast (thursday evening, 16/5) please let me know if you know where it is.

Thats all. Thank you in advance!!

Anyway. I have noticed on some trainstations there is a recurring sound which is heard all over the station. First I heard it at Kagoshima-chuo and today at Okayama. It goes like ding (following a five second or so pause) dong and keeps on like that.

These are sounds for visually impaired people. If you follow the sound, you will get to a map with braille labels where visually impaired people can gain an orientation of the area.

I am afraid I don't know about the miniature things.

Alright, thank you Uji-san!

I went to Naoshima today and went through a foresty path to a temple (part of the art exhibition) on the east side of the island. Noticed several larvas hanging from the trees or different places in the shadowy parts there. They were hanging from thin threads (like a single spider web). I suppose there are no poisonous insects in Japan except for this gigantic hornet buzzing around at summers. But it would be interesting to know what these little creatures could be.

Being rather unfamiliar with the wildlife of Japan it looked quite frightening at first seeing that thing hanging silently from a tree (it actually reminds me of a monster from a game called Half Life which hanged from the cieling).

But it would be interesting to know what these little creatures could be.

These should be caterpillars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar

They hang from trees to protect from predators.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/eggs-larvae-and-caterpillars/...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070626062739AAvYzgY

I think there also exist various kinds of larvae that hang on trees on very long threads. And I am not sure whether I make this up, but I think I once heard of some that use sticky threads and eat insects that get caught on their threads. It also sounds like an inspiring idea for a modern art installation.

As suggested in the link provided, a lot of the wooly caterpillars in Japan are indeed poisonous.

They won't immediately hospitalize you, but you may get terrible itches just by accidentally touching them or having them accidentally drop on you. They feed on cherry blossom trees and many other ordinary garden trees, and ordinary housewives are often affected by them.

So don't get the wrong idea that you can walk through nature without covering yourself. Just by visiting a country farm to buy fresh dairy products, you can get stung by an unnoticibly tiny insect, the gnat, and get your arm or thigh swollen and itchy for days.

Again, these things won't cause you serious hospitalizing or deter your touring, but they can make you pretty uncomfortable. Know the creatures you try to befriend, be it human or non-human.

Alright then it was no friend of mine that little creature. The only poisonous insects I heard of is the Japanese hornet and the mukade, so I might have been a bit blind to those other stuff.

There is no info on other pests in Japan to watch out for? I will mostly be visiting cities or towns. Today I went to Bitchu Talahashi, noticed a small bug of some sort landed on my shirt. Could be bad, could be not. Will be around Osaka and later Sapporo, maybe just the same fauna there (more bears). Anyway I always wear long shirt and pants when in more rural areas.

Hmm, are tourist's guides always like that? I find it strange that mukade was mentioned while not much else was.

I don't mean that the others are dangerous. I mean that mukade (centipedes) are as harmless as the other "poisonous" creatures, moreover they are as rare as their fellow yukky-looking creatures.

I think it's quite unlikely that you'd encounter a mukade while touring short term in Japan staying at hotels. Even if one does, one does not normally try to touch mukade and they won't necessarily rush to bite you. You're more likely to encounter jellyfish bites if you go swimming in the beach.

As a person who has traveled to about 20 countries around the world, I'd say that Japan only has a fair share of dangerous spicies. You don't really "watch out" for anything unless you're exploring nature or going out for an adventure.

Locals don't do anything special about hornets either. Wouldn't anyone in any country watch out for bees? It's the same thing.

Just take it easy and don't try to touch anything harmful-looking. But just don't assume that Japan is safer than most parts of the civilized world. Follow your common sense, is all I need to say. Even in sunny Southern California, you get mites of some sort if you keep your room too dirty.

I went to Naoshima today and went through a foresty path to a temple (part of the art exhibition) on the east side of the island. Noticed several larvas hanging from the trees or different places in the shadowy parts there.

I was there last week (at Go-o shrine btw). They were caterpillars that were hanging from the trees. Indeed don't pet the hairy ones (kemushi) as the hairs will irritate our skin and give you an itchy rash. The smooth ones are imomushi and I think they are ok to touch.

As a person who has traveled to about 20 countries around the world, I'd say that Japan only has a fair share of dangerous spicies. You don't really "watch out" for anything unless you're exploring nature or going out for an adventure.

Yea, Japan has relatively few poisonous insects, which is why the mukade and suzumebachi are mentioned so often (probably unnecessarily as they are both scary looking enough that no one is going to try to touch them).

Locals don't do anything special about hornets either. Wouldn't anyone in any country watch out for bees? It's the same thing.

Its good to be aware of what you might run into, especially if venturing out of the cities. I find that I encounter hornets quite often in Japan and they are definitely bigger and scary looking that what I'm used to in CA. But yes, the proper thing to do when you encounter these insects is to avoid them.

Even in sunny Southern California, you get mites of some sort if you keep your room too dirty.

Tell me about it. I was in SoCal last month and the bed-bug bites are still showing in my arms and neck. I had never knew they even existed, and had to go to PS for that.

Which leads to my question: what are the odds I'll have such a bad experience in a cheap japanese hotel?

just to clarify, PS means ER in portuguese, my bad LOL

Which leads to my question: what are the odds I'll have such a bad experience in a cheap japanese hotel?

I would say the odds are very low. Japanes hotels, even the cheap ones are generally very clean