“Sometimes it is the process of doing that makes things clear. If we don’t start, we never know what could have been. Sometimes the answers we find while searching are better or more creative than anything we could have ever imagined before.”

— Lynne Cox, Grayson

 

Rare encounter with a Tanuki ( and other stories about Japanese Yokai)

When I visited Japan several years ago I had a strange encounter. I saw a mysterious creature, a yokai.

It was during a walking tour. My sister and I were climbing up a long set of stairs toward a temple gate. Ahead of us we noticed some Japanese girls taking photos and exclaiming excitedly. What was this about? We climbed faster.  In the bushes just off to the side, less than three feet away, we glimpsed a Japanese tanuki.