How to tell apart

Serow or deer?

The names are similar in Japanese, but the serow belongs to the cattle family and the deer to the deer family. Their horns tell them apart.

Special Natural Monument

Japanese Serow

Mammals

Capricornis crispus

Both males and females have short, straight horns that are never shed.

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National Natural Monument

Sika Deer

Mammals

Cervus nippon

Only males have branched antlers, and they are shed and regrown every year.

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More features

By seasonLate autumn to early spring

Birds that come for the winter

From late autumn to early spring, cranes, swans, geese and sea eagles arrive from their northern breeding grounds. Some of their wintering sites are themselves designated Natural Monuments.

9 animals

By seasonSpring to summer

Birds that come to raise their young

These birds fly in from their southern wintering grounds in spring and raise their young in Japan over the summer. It is the season to hear and see them in forests and mountains.

6 animals

By seasonEarly summer nights

Fireflies of summer nights

Places where Genji, Heike and Hime fireflies emerge are designated in many parts of Japan. When watching them, keep lights to a minimum and leave the fireflies and their surroundings undisturbed.

3 animals