ツキノワグマ
Japanese Black Bear
Tsukinowaguma
The white crescent on its chest is its signature marking — and the source of its Japanese name, Tsukinowaguma, which literally means "moon-ring bear" (tsuki = moon, wa = ring, kuma = bear).
✓ spotted
The book kids can't put down
I Slipped
on a Poo!
うんちで すべった！
One slippery mistake sends Kintaro tumbling into the secret world of Japan's wild animals — 13 real creatures, told through their tracks, their homes and (yes) their poo. In English and Japanese, side by side.
HK$180 / ¥2,200See the Field Kit →
Ages 8+Bilingual JP / EN10 × 10 in (25.4 × 25.4 cm), 48pp
"Watch your step."
足跡には物語がある。
Why it works
Gross enough to love. True enough to trust.
Poo. Glorious poo.
Every animal leaves clues. Kids learn to read the trail like a real naturalist — starting with the funniest clue of all.
13 real animals
Bears, foxes, serows and the rare Iriomote cat — every creature in the book genuinely lives wild in Japan.
Two languages, one story
English and Japanese sit side by side on every page — perfect for bilingual families and curious learners.
It gets kids outside
The story ends where the real adventure begins: on the trail, notebook in hand, looking for tracks.
Look inside
Sample spreads
Page 12 — First sighting on the Tanigawa trail
12ページ — 谷川岳での初めての出会い
Page 13 — A naturalist's first clue
13ページ — 自然観察者の最初の手がかり
Back cover — Kintaro's adventure
裏表紙 — キンタロウの冒険
Pages 14–15 — Japanese Red Fox, tracks and a tell-tale dropping
14–15ページ — キタキツネ、足跡と落とし物
Meet the cast
Thirteen animals to spot
出会う十三の生き物
Hover a card to read Kintaro's field note. Every animal in the book is one you might genuinely meet on a Japanese trail.
キツネ
Japanese Red Fox
Kitsune
Sacred messenger of Inari. Look for paw-prints in fresh snow.
✓ spotted
イノシシ
Japanese Wild Boar
Inoshishi
Striped piglets are called 'uri-bō' — little melon-children.
✓ spotted
アオダイショウ
Japanese Rat Snake
Aodaishō
Japan's largest snake — a gentle climber that keeps farmhouses mouse-free.
✓ spotted
タヌキ
Japanese Badger (Tanuki)
Tanuki
A real raccoon-dog — and a shape-shifting trickster in old folklore.
✓ spotted
ヤマネ
Japanese Dormouse
Yamane
A palm-sized 'living fossil' that sleeps the whole winter curled in a ball.
✓ spotted
アマミノクロウサギ
Amami Rabbit
Amami-no-kuro-usagi
A dark, short-eared rabbit found only on two southern islands — barely changed in millions of years.
✓ spotted
アマミトゲネズミ
Amami Spiny Rat
Amami-toge-nezumi
Endemic to Amami Ōshima — and famous for having no Y chromosome at all.
✓ spotted
ヒグマ
Hokkaido Brown Bear
Higuma
Japan's largest land animal. Walk noisy, sing loud — let the bear know you're there.
✓ spotted
ニホンカモシカ
Japanese Serow
Nihon-kamoshika
A goat-antelope that hasn't changed in two million years.
✓ spotted
ニホンジカ
Japanese Sika Deer
Nihonjika
Found bowing for crackers in Nara — and grazing wild across the mountains.
✓ spotted
ニホンザル
Japanese Macaque
Nihonzaru
The world's northernmost monkey. Famous for its winter hot-spring soaks.
✓ spotted
イリオモテヤマネコ
Iriomote Cat
Iriomote-yamaneko
A wild cat known from a single island — fewer than 100 remain in the forest.
✓ spotted
The companion
Kintaro's Explorer Notebook
キンタロウの探検ノート
Not a blank notebook — every page is printed with bilingual prompts, note lines and sketch boxes, so young explorers can record what they discover on their own hikes. Tracks they found, weather, sketches, and the day's best clue.
- · A5 (148 × 210 mm) — fits a small backpack pocket
- · 48 printed pages of prompts and sketch boxes
- · English and Japanese throughout
HK$90 / ¥1,250Look inside →
Best value
Kintaro's Field Kit
金太郎のフィールド・キット
The book and the Explorer Notebook, wrapped in a bilingual belly-band designed to be kept. Everything a young naturalist needs for their first expedition.
HK$216 / ¥2,760 HK$270 / ¥3,450
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足元にご注意ください
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