Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

This morning, it was monkeys. Last year, it was bears. You would think Saihaku was situated in the middle of a zoo.

Last year, the bear sighting led to the distribution of bells to each little group of students who make their way to school together. Some were even lucky enough to receive personal alarms, made very obvious by the "accidental" triggering throughout the halls the day they were distributed.

A few months ago, I spotted a tanuki wandering around the vending machines in front of the local grocery store, perhaps hoping to come across some delicious canned hot coffee.

And now, this morning, a phone call from the town hall informed us that monkeys (perhaps fierce, maybe even rabid!?!) had been spotted by Miyamae bridge, and asked that all the teachers ask all the students whether they themselves had spotted any of the thieving violent creatures. I should think the kids wouldn't tell -- imagine being able to come to school and say, "The monkey stole my homework."

(One of the eikaiwa woman told a story about coming home one day and finding a monkey contentedly eating up all the food offerings that had been made to a somewhat recently departed grandfather, mowing down on rice and mikans as it were, so keep those doors locked folks!)