Unfortunately, we couldn't see it's underside, otherwise I would have known it was an
アカハライモリ (akahara-imori or Japanese Fire Belly Newt). I just happen to have one nearby for comparison.
Hopefully the ones in the wild don't have a magnet attached to their tummy.
On Saturday, a friend and I drove 3 hours to the city of Tsuruoka and visited its Kamo Jellyfish Museum. Before I get to the main attraction, here are a few of the other creatures on display.
As we were about to check out the Jellies, we were sidetracked by some seals and their performing humans.
A ringer!
Now for the Jellies (an extremely adorable nickname for jellyfish)! There are a ton on display, so I couldn't take the time to label them. I'll provide a guide afterwards.
Some Jellies are bred here in captivity.
Ahh! What is that horrid creature!
Several jolly Jellies.
Jollier Jellies.
This attraction features thousands of Aurelia aurita, the common or moon jellyfish, floating in a huge tank 5 meters in diameter.
Apparently, innumerable Tinder-gals have used this background for their profile picture. Should I do the same?
Here is a glossary of most of the Jellies. If you want to figure out what it is in English, Google the Latin.
I snagged a "How to make Jellyfish Origami" and feel free to scam it from me.
I bought a superball with a fish inside. (I hope it isn't a real fish.)
I scored these two items with the purchase of a Kuji. Alas I won the cheapest prize.
I picked up a couple of Clear Files. (Of course.)
Before we left the joint, we espied a few sea lions.
Some sea lions swimming.
A slumbering walrus.
I tried a special soft ice cream that has Jellyfish sprinkles. The ice cream itself was fine though the sprinkled bits were a tad rubbery.
A few shots of Yunohama Beach.
You can barely make out Mt. Choukai (known as the Fuji of Dewa) through the mist.
Before heading home, we popped into a little seaside town and it was dull beyond compare. The locals spent a few hours watching a float being disassembled. The parade was the next day, so I'm glad I managed to snap a few pics before it disappeared.
A pretty nifty dragon!
Finally, a river shot during a pit stop on the way home. I'll probably return to Kamo, it was very interesting.
