Frogger

With its humid climate and countless rice paddies, Japan is a frog's heaven.

OR IS IT?

Frogs are despised by the Japanese. I first noticed this last year when most of my students listed "flog" [uh-oh] as their most hated thing. When Aaron and I asked our Kaiwa class about this, they all declared frogs to be "kimoi" [kimochi ga warui = gives a bad feeling; creepy]. Aaron's kids freaked when he told them he liked to watch and play with the frogs. And the thing the Japanese seem to dislike the most is the ribbet ["kero kero" in Japanese]. What with all the Nature Sounds Sleeping Aid thingies in the states, this frog/ribbet hate is a bit strange for us. Chalk it up to cultural differences.

Further evidence of frog hate: besides the countless flattened frogs [which are probably just accidents], Cory's neighbor boy shots frogs with air guns.