Wildlife and Nature

I'm trying to write a book taking place in Japan, but i've never been to this country; and all i see are the cities on the internet. What sort of things can yu expect about Nature and Wildlife? Are there any forests, Parks, Zoos, wildlife anything that help me out?

Why are you only seeing cities on the internet? If I do a search for "Japanese wildlife" I get all sorts of information about the animals found in Japan.

Thanks for telling me that.Lets just say that my search engine knowledge isn't as good as others. I've tried looking up the information i need but i haven't gotten any luck. But thanks in any case.

Have a look for 'Japanese maquaces' they are monkeys.

I recommend to use Google. It provides the best quality results:
http://www.google.com/

And then use search terms like the following:
japan wildlife
japan animals
japanese animals
japan wild animals
japanese wild animals
japanese fauna
japan fauna
etc.

Note also that there are quite big regional differences in wildlife between Okinawa, Honshu/Kyushu/Shikoku and Hokkaido.

You ned to use the spelling "macaques" if you want to find the monkeys.

Uji gave good advice- when searching use Google. Very simple, lots of results.

you can also actually look at Japan thanks to Google Earth. It is very easy to download from the internet. Once you have a close view of a place you can switch (under file) to google maps to get streets/ roads names then get photos by moving a little guy around. Mind you I only have checked cities for the latest feature but I bet that there are photos of some temples in the woods etc.

Thanks for the information that you;ve given to me. I used Goggle Earth to find places of interest; oh by the way, i'm not looking for monkeys.

I also looked up some more information on Wikipedia, which answered some concerns of mine as well as questions.

The reason I'm asking these questions is because I'm writing a book with an extinct animal the used to live in Japan, the Ezo Wolf. The information i collected served quite useful.

However i need some more help. The book is a fantasy storyline, but the concept about the "fantasy" nature is about Japan's religions. I know that they use to believe in Shinto, and that they believe in Buddhism (pardon the spelling). However, one of my concerns is about what Japan believes in; do any of you know if Japan believes in any other religion? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, i'm just trying to get as much information as i can for my book.Thanx for the other information as well.

Shinto shrines are still active and to be found all over Japan, just like with Buddhist temples. There is also quite a large minority of Christians. Here is another topic where Google will help you- try searching for "religions in Japan" and you should find plenty of info.

So Japan still believes in Shintoism... awww man! That makes my book worthless now, unless i find out something else- sigh.

If you are going to write about Ezo Wolf, I assume you are going to write about the Hokkaido island and beyond; then it would be meaningless not to cover the Ainu people and their beliefs too, even if it's fantasy. I recommend a good research before you embark on your book :)

Ezo Wolf, why? Honshu Wolf also, Canis lupus hodophilax, was extinct in 19th century. Scientists suspect that the cause of extinction of both were an epidemic which came from Western country in this century.

There is few religion or myth that relates with wolves. (I suppose the tradition of Ainu people relates with bear rather).
However, mountainous monks might have respected them. The messengers of god of Mitsumine shrine are wolves.
http://darumapilgrim.blogspot.com/2005/09/mitsumine-shr...

Sorry if this is not an answer for your question.

It seems to be quite often that there are people posting here saying they are writing fiction about Japan and want to know about some detail, yet they know very little about the country and have never been here.

The chances that they will get even half the details accurate are quite low, especially if it is set in a historical time frame! It is usually better to write about what you know.

Sira you are so right! looks like these posters are very young and haven't read enough books to learn the basic tricks of the trade. In my younger days I used to read Jane Austen, George Sand, Balzac, Steinbeck and many others for the stories but now I read them for the background, the bones of the book : the descriptions of the landscapes, streets and buildings, the decoration of the houses, the lives of people in the background (servants, .store keepers, tradesmen etc.) It all give such an interesting and realistic picture of the times when the books were written.
A few years ago I read several modern detective stories that take place in Japan, written by a young woman born into an Indhu -English family. I wrote down the details of the routes used by her main character as she goes around Tokyo, Kamakura etc. and was able to follow the character in the actual streets because the writer was so accurate. It was fascinating .

Sujata Massey, right? Yes, she seems to know Japan quite well, so her stories are convincing.

I appreciate all of the info and opinions you all have given, and it's also clear to me now that i haven't been fair to you all because i haven't told you the concept of my storyline.So if you're willing to listen, i'll tell you the concept of my book.

My book is a fantasy/spirituallity book talking about Japan in modern times. The storyline is basically about a myth that becomes true in these times. The myth in question is actually a Japanese legend: The Legend of Orochi.The Orochi awakens from it's captive slumber and threatens to destroy Japan with its powers.

I don't mean to offend anyone in here with the book storyline, but i heard that many people in Japan feel insulted when it comes to this legend; i hope that that's just conjuncture.

The aspect on the Ezo wolf comes into play because the Goddess Amaterasu descends to Japan but with no memories of her past. and (if i got the legend's correct) Susan-O's descendant, a boy from New York, holds the key to defeating the Orochi.

If any of you feel insulted then i apologize. I've been trying to write this story as best as possible, but it's hard to find a good time and place to start. If any of you would like to send me your opinion via email, then that would seem better, my address is nanocarticsnow@excite.com please write back with any suggestions and opinions.

Thanks Sira, yes it is Sujata. I e-mailed her after the trip and she liked that we used her books as "guidebooks"