Tokyo has a wonderful habit of conjuring up the unexpected, and a four year old iguana spending a bit of time on a Shinjuku street corner was certainly something of a surprise.
Iguana on the streets of Tokyo
Photographs from a small group of islands
Photographs from a small group of islands
Tokyo has a wonderful habit of conjuring up the unexpected, and a four year old iguana spending a bit of time on a Shinjuku street corner was certainly something of a surprise.
Martin says
Maybe a rare sight in Tokyo but they are all over the streets here.
Lee says
A found it a fascinating creature. Tame enough to let me touch it too.
So where do you live? Are they generally quite vicious or fairly placid?
Martin says
I’m in Ft Lauderdale FL. Since we really have no winter every kind of lizard and snake thrives here.
The iguanas are not aggressive except to each other during mating season. Some people here in the office share their lunch with them. Occasionally we have monitor lizards, best to avoid them.
Bernadette Marchetti says
Another Floridian, huh? I’m in Palm Coast (somewhere in the middle of nowhere between Daytona and St. Augustine).
Florida also has a lot of other weird things on the streets: alligators, lemurs, emu, skunks, peafowl, etc. In Oviedo, Florida (outside of Orlando), chickens are allowed by law to roam the streets. Here’s a six-minute documentary on the chickens of Oviedo, Florida: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3nYqOYQ74k
Is that guy’s pinky cut off or is it just bent in a way that looks like it’s been cut off? Then again, nothing says “yakuza” like an iguana on a leash, right? (j/k)
Lee says
Wow, very different from both here and my native Britain. I guess you get used to them, but for me they are incredible looking creatures. Beasts I can just stare at for ages. Like looking at the long distant past.
Chickens on the other hand, not so much. Although seeing them roam the streets is interesting!
Haha! Yes, no self respecting yakuza would be seen leaving the house without his iguana!
Coli says
Cool colors in this picture. I’ve never seen an orange iguana before. The little guy seems more at home than the owner.
Lee says
Likewise. I honestly though it was some kind of toy at first — its colouring was so vivid.
He was ok actually. The owner that is. We had a bit of a chat and he was cool.