Hidding at Hatena

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Rat Snake

After not leaving my home at all for three days, while depleting our stock of tissues, it was time today to recover from my cold and take a short walk outside with my partner. We live on the border of Kyoto so we can frequently see deer and monkeys near our home. During our walk today we came across this fellow.

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I asked my partner, what kind of snake is it? He answerd it is an Aodaishō, a Japanese rat snake. Which supprised me because the last two times I asked Japanese friends the same question about very different looking snakes I got the same answer. It probebly is a safe bet and according to the wikipedia this snake can differ in color quite a bit. Once I came across a huge one on the middle of the Kyoto University Campus, and one other time I saw one swimming in the river just while I was cooling my feet in that same river. So, it is good to know that they are not dangerous.