Even though in November, slime mold was still active.
It was already November and felt cold, so I didn't expect at all to find slime mold vigorously growing on the decayed logs in the mountains. These are the immature fruiting bodies of the slime mold, but before talking about that, I would like to explain the circumstance that walking in the woods is becoming dangerous recently. In 2025, Japan has seen a troubling rise in bear-related incidents across multiple regions, in particular, in north-east area of Honshu (the main island of Japan). Asiatic black bears have been increasingly witnessed, and many fatal attacks have occurred in not only rural areas but residential areas in prefectures such as Akita, Iwate and Nagano. In the area where I am living, a mountaineer was attacked by a bear and seriously injured in June this year while walking along mountain trail, and he was transported by a helicopter ambulance (Doctor Heli) to an emergency hospital. Fortunately, no personal injuries have occurred since then until now, although there ...
