Team T International 2.0: The Friendly Animals of Japan

Over many days, our family was awed by the bravery of semi wild animals when it came to human encounters.
Halfway through our train trip around Honshu, we stopped at my happy place, rabbit island or as more formally known, Okunoshima.
During World War II the island was used as a manufacturing plant for poisonous gasses to be used on the Allies. The toxins were tested on rabbits, but when the war ended and the factory was shut down, and workers released all the bunnies to run wild on the island. Nowadays, thousands of bunnies call the island home, protected from predators and feed daily by the tourists who often traverse the sunny paths that loop around the small island. We spent the better part of an afternoon feeding crowds of bunnies representing multiple species and soaking up the tan enduing beach views. Best day ever!!!!

After the morning visit to the Hiroshima Peace Museum, we spent the afternoon and into evening exploring Miyajima Island, home to the Itsukushima floating shrine. This classic, orange gate Shinto shrine appears to be floating at high tide, making it a bustling tour group destination. We wanted to photograph the shrine at this time, but we had a few hours check out the Buddhist monasteries on the steep hills overlooking the main village of the island. Prior to boarding the ferry we had been faithful sightseers and read up on our excursion of choice in our trusty Lonely Planet guide book. We had thought little of the quote mentioning "cheeky deer." As soon as we stepped out of the ferry terminal we noticed the four legged, sacred Sika deer roaming lazily down the streets monopolized by humans. "... Please do not feed the deer, they are wild animals. Do not pet the deer..." blared over the loudspeaker, but apparently that message didn't really get though to anyone. Many tourist found a relaxing buck or doe and took selfies with them, but, the herbivores, well actually omnivores if you count their love of paper, had other ideas. We watched one young lady attempt to snap a picture with one but didn't end up getting the shot when her photo buddy tried to eat her hair. One man had a small heard after his ice cream, and a few individual animals followed us more than a few times. It was cute, but also sad to see wild animals so dependent on humans. We got into some of the Buddhist temples just before they were closed to the public for the evening and saw many Sikas in a more natural environment.

A doe and her fawn don't make a signs of being afraid of us as
we stroll by

A pair of deer in front of the Itsukushima shrine

Stone lanterns stand guard at the water's edge

Japanese maple leaves grow outside a Buddhist temple

One Buck really wants whatever is in that white bag dad is holding...

Many small statues depicting the Buddha's disciples are capped in knitted hats

Lastly, one of Nick's favorite parts of the trip, the Owl Cafe. Only him and Mom ended up going to this low profile experience in Tokyo, but hearing their description of it made me wish I'd gone. They could pet over 30 different birds of many species, and even hold one! Nick chose to hold a Western Screech owl by the name of Pot-sticker. At first the staff was hesitant to let a kid interact with their birds of prey, but once they saw how much he loved owls and how much the owls loved him, he ended up getting to hold two. Michele requested "a big one" from the owl menu and was presented a beautiful South American species named Gorilla.