- Snake, snake, snake!
That is the four-lined rat snake.
They have a tendency to be rather bite-y.
(dramatic jungle music)
Japan.
A location the Brave Wilderness crew and I
have long dreamed of exploring.
On our first day in country, we headed out
toward a remotely wild place that is well known
for having a high density of animal activity.
And while Japan is often called the Land of the Rising Sun,
upon our arrival, we found ourselves
smack in the middle of typhoon season.
So instead of witnessing the sun, we were welcomed
with the obstacle of persistent rainfall.
This is a pretty crazy bridge.
- [Man] Oh man, it's wobbling.
- You know, if we didn't tell you this was Japan
you may think this is Costa Rica.
Wow!
- Look at that. - How about that?
- Look at that view.
Wow.
- [Nathaniel] What do you think, Mario?
- Pretty high off the ground here.
- Bridge is a little unstable, guys.
- Yeah, let's not shake it.
(laughing)
Let's not shake the bridge.
Quite a ways up right now, I'd say
well over a hundred feet on a suspension bridge
in the middle of ancient Japanese forests.
You can just feel the energy with this rain coming down.
It feels like Costa Rica, but this is Japan proper
right here, guys.
Alright, we're heading further up the mountain
to see what we can find in this rainstorm.
Alright, guys, let's keep moving.
Whoa!
It's tough to keep your balance.
A little bit of rain wasn't going to stop
this fearless band of animal adventurers.
So we pressed onward with the hopes
that eventually this rain would end.
If anything was going to slow our progress,
it was the inevitable curse of jet lag.
Here's one thing you guys may not realize
about life on location, is we have been in Japan officially
for just about 48 hours, and it's a 13 hour time difference.
So right now, in the United States in Ohio,
it is 3:15 in the morning.
And that means that it is, I don't know what time here.
But my math skills are a little off,
and you feel like you're in a trance.
Jet lag is a very real thing,
especially when you're out hiking in the wilderness,
and trying to keep your focus, even hiking is difficult.
Alright, I'm falling behind.
Let me catch up with the guys.
Despite feeling displaced, this rugged wilderness
was the perfect place to search for animals.
And the good thing about rain is that eventually it stops.
When it does, the animals come out from hiding
and begin to hunt amongst the freshly saturated terrain.
Alright, guys, so we have made it sorta up to this clearing.
Check this out.
There's a road.
Goes all the way down that direction.
Sorta goes up toward that next mountain peak.
Snake, snake, snake!
- [Man] Got it?
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, let me identify it.
Marty, what is that?
That's a rat snake right?
- [Marty] Rat snake.
- [Nathaniel] Got its tail, got its tail.
- [Man] Got it?
- Yep.
Had to think for a second there.
Hold on, let me put this GoPro down.
Alright, hold on, hold on, hold on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it.
Alright, come here, buddy, come here.
That is a four-lined rat snake right there.
Oh, hold on.
- [Man] Oh man, that's a good sized snake.
- Yeah, that's a good sized snake for sure.
Now, they can be pretty feisty.
There we go.
Hi, buddy.
Oh look at that!
That's our first snake of the trip right there.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
No biting, no biting.
There we go.
Oh, look at the tail, look at the tail going.
Defensive mimicry right there.
That's so crazy because there are no rattlesnakes
in this area, no rattlesnakes in Japan period.
And let alone, this rat snake is using its tail
as a sign that hey, I may be venomous,
you'd better back off.
Alright guys, let's back up just a touch here.
Let me get up on the trail.
Yes, how 'bout that!
We got above the rain and managed to find our first snake.
You got that?
Alright.
How's your lighting there?
- [Crew] Perfect.
- Wow, perfect!
Hanging out right on my arm,
that is the four-lined rat snake.
One of the coolest constrictor species here in Japan.
And actually one of the largest snakes that you'll find
anywhere here in Japan.
One of the largest snakes; they can grow
up to close to seven feet in length.
What a beautiful snake.
Look how calm it's being, too.
Now, because this is a nonvenomous species,
they have a tendency to be rather bite-y.
So sometimes they will strike, but that's not a bite
that I need to be concerned with.
They do have a slight anticoagulant in their saliva,
but their primary means for catching and killing their prey
is to actually constrict around it.
Now this snake--
Whoa, I see you puffin' up your head into a triangle shape.
No no, no biting.
This is actually great, the snake is staying
completely calm.
I see you, this is great.
You're making it very simple for Mario
to get the B-roll shots.
Now, when they wrap around their prey, what they do
is constrict down until that air,
until that breathing, is cut off.
Once the prey suffocates, then they have the ability
to swallow the prey down.
And look at that, perfect strike pose right there.
Looks as if it may just lunge out and bite me in the nose.
Now where does that name come from?
Four--
Whoop, ooh.
- [Man] Man, that was close.
- Well I've got it just positioned so that I know
it can't actually reach my face.
Like I was saying, where does that name come from,
the four-lined rat snake?
You can see those four distinct lines that run
down the length of the snake's body.
And here's something that I really love,
makes it very easily identifiable.
See that little black band just behind the eye,
makes it look like a raccoon mask?
Or maybe a ninja mask?
Whoop, there you go.
These snakes are incredibly fast, incredibly cunning.
Now they hunt after small rodents, but they'll also eat
things like small toads, frogs, lizards,
and will even go up into trees to rob bird nests
of their young or of eggs.
Wow, what a beautiful snake.
Very smooth, very streamline, just like the black rat snakes
that we have in the States.
And of course this is also related in a sense
to the fox snake.
Wow, what a great find.
Now like I said, we just got above the cloud line,
so the rain has died back.
And this snake is not afraid to be out in the rain.
In fact, this is perfect for this snake to be out
hunting for amphibians.
A lot of small newts, frogs, toads will all be out
right now hunting amongst the rain.
- [Man] Yeah, we've seen a lot of frogs
crossing the trail.
- Right, which makes the perfect opportunity
for this snake to get its meal.
What a handsome creature.
Alright, well let's place this snake
right back onto the path, let it head in that direction.
And see what else we can find.
- [Man] Let's do it.
(peaceful music)
- [Nathaniel] Wow, look at that slither.
The four-lined rat snake is one of the most common
reptile species one can hope to come across in Japan.
Their calm demeanor and nonvenomous nature
make them a wonderful snake to interact with,
especially for our first animal that we encountered
on this trip.
Yet danger always seems to find us.
And as predicted, with the passing of the rain,
came the emergence of the animals.
Stay tuned for the heart racing conclusion
as I managed to find, catch, and dangerously handle
one of the only snakes in the world
that is both venomous and poisonous.
Careful, Coyote, that is one toxic combination.
And don't forget, subscribe, then click
the notification bell so you can join me and the crew
on our next wild adventure.
(animals roaring and howling)