I just spent the past two days on a beach! Not what we planned for when mapping out our trip to Japan, but no complaints here.
From Nagoya we took a plane to the main island of Okinawa, then another flight to Ishigaki-jima, then we hopped a ferry to Iriomote-jima, a remote jungle island where John and I did some snorkeling a year ago. Because I didn’t bother to bring my contacts to Japan, the snorkeling was a little blurry for me this time, but still a lot of fun. I spent more time lying in the sand (with plenty of shade and sunblock), reading my book and listening to the ocean. I also met some new friends!
This is Dwight. He was pretty shy, but I thought he had a lovely shell.
Next I met Fusako-san. She crawled around on John’s hand for a while, before falling off the edge. (She was fine.)
This is Goro, who wasn’t shy at all. I loved his beady little eyes.
Then we have Chibi, who was almost the tiniest crab we found. (Photographed on John’s index finger.)
And finally, Stripy-kun! Who was very stripy.
All of these guys were extremely friendly and graciously tolerated our poking them and turning them upside down, so I think I’m over my fear of hermit crabs. They’re just too cute to be afraid of.
Now we’re back in Tokyo for the night, and tomorrow we return to the states. I really feel like I just got here, but surely it won’t be so long before I’m back for another visit. I’ve also got plenty of more photos to share once I return!
Wow, not so hermit-y and apparently not a bit crabby! Thanks so much for posting while you traveled. It’s been fun to see Japan in a different way. Is a stripped knitted crab in our future?
You were afraid of hermit crabs?
My daughter loves those pics. So fun.
even the crabs are cuter in japan! and so friendly you are on a first name basis with them! it was quite a treat being introduced to all your new friends… :)
Ooo, can we hope for a pattern for knitted hermit crabs sometime in the future?
Knitted hermit crabs would be VERY cool. Man, I want to go to Japan even more now. Maybe I should start begging my mom….
i so love hermit crabs! those are lovely.
I’ve seen hermit crabs outside of their shells. Not so cute. But in their shells they’re definitely a lot of fun. :)
Hm a knitted hermit crab… could be very cute!
My fear of them came from the first time I met one. It was my friend’s pet, and when she placed it on the palm of my hand, it pinched me HARD. And wouldn’t stop pinching until we ran some water over him. He must not have been a very happy crab.
Whoa!! These hermit crabs are awsome. It totally beats the one my brother got last summer when we went to Destin, FL that had the life span of a few days. I have a weird fear of crabs too. (I was 6 and my parents took me to Chinatown to buy some crabs for dinner and I was allowed to picked one up with the BBQ tongs the store let us use. I dropped the crab and I started panicking really bad :).)
ooooh, these hermit crabs are sooooo sweet…. i especially like stripey-kun in his pretty shell! a knit hermit-crab pattern would be so lovely… i’m continuously (well, okay, ALMOST continuously) knitting lobsters and i would love knitting a hermit crab.
Aww, I love your new friends! I’ve never been to Okinawa, but if I knew the company would have been so nice I definitely would have made a stop there! ;)
I love the way crabs look (well, except for horseshoe crabs which look more like flat spiky aliens) and how they move. It’s great seeing them here!
Anna, I think I recommended knitted hermit crabs quite a while back when you were working on the snails . . . I’m not sure so I’ll have to check your archives. It would be a great way to use up little scraps of yarn by making the shells something that can be removed. Just a thought!
Thank you for sharing the hermit crab pix. Goro is my favorite! I can just imagine knitting one of these little guys up in a stripy or variegated yarn. Sweet!
I finally found the post–from the December 11, 2007 blog entry. (By the way, I’m not trying to take credit–Anna’s snails/slugs and the way the shell is optional reminded me of hermit crabs. :)) http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/?p=208#comments
I had the same hermit crab experience in 7th grade. That’s not something you soon forget (some 30+ years later!) So I feel your pain. But, DANG, those leetle guys are so cute!!! EVERYTHING is cuter in Japan!!!