King Mukade

I have two fears regarding my stay in Japan. 1) Huntsman Spiders (HUGE spiders) and 2) Mukade (Poisonous centipedes)

1) Huntsman. I will spare you a photograph of one of these guys since my friend Marty sometimes reads this and is frightened by spiders to the extent that he would never come back to this blog if the spiders picture were on here. Feel free to google one though.

The bad news: They are all over rural Japan. They grow to be about the side of your hand and sometimes your face..(that's including their legs..not JUST their body. I wouldn't come to this country if their body got that big)

The good news: They eat mukade (I'll get to them in a minute) and my predecessor never saw one. They don't live indoors but sometimes make it into apartments to look for food but won't bug people. They don't even make webs really, they make these little holes in the ground. So basically they are my protectors. I saw one outside one day but it was just hanging out on a chair by a garden. Scary... but harmless.


2)MUKADE. These things scare the CRAP out of me. They are poisonous and bite and are fast and everything bad about bugs rolled up into one.

The bad news: They big you and it hurts like hell. They get in walls and in floors and will creep into your bed at night to bite you. You don't die from them, but sometimes you have to go to the hospital if you don't take care of them (usually when you get bit from a really big one). They also look disgusting. They look like devils.

The good news: They are relatively rare in Niigata. They mostly hang out in southern Japan where it's warmer. My predecessor never saw one around these parts, however he got bit by one in Kyoto while he was sleeping. He threw it off of his chest and, naturally, he had issues getting back to sleep after it bit him because he heard it run away but never saw where it went... yikes.

The REALLY bad news:
Last night Hilary and I were watching some TV and she said "AH! What IS that?" and a little baby mukade came scurrying across the floor. I stood up to turn a light on and maybe grab a shoe to take that bugger out. (A baby is was about as long as your pointer finger and was pretty thin.) Anyway, Hil went to smash it and right when her hand went down it whipped its head up and bit her on the finger. Luckily it was a little one and although it hurt, there was no swelling or poison or anything. but... this is not a good sign as far as my fear goes. We tore up the house looking for where it went but have to find that thing. I think it sneaks in through the floor in my bedroom... great.

For your viewing pleasure... a mukade (full size, not a baby.)