With climates ranging from subarctic in the north to subtropical in the south, Japan is home to a truly wondrous variety of natural habitats. Each of these habitats supports its own unique set of fauna and flora, creating a biodiversity so rich that Conservation International has designated the entire country as one of the world's 34 "Biodiversity Hotspots." The Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa Prefecture) and the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, consisting of 200 islands stretching in a 1,000-kilometer arc from the southern tip of Kyushu to Taiwan, are especially rich in unique plants and...
photo: WN
