The Environment Ministry’s real-life power rangers

Japan’s Ministry of Environment employs about 60 “active rangers.” These assistants to the ministry’s Rangers for Nature Preservation are employed to patrol, give tours of, survey, and in general help maintain Japan’s national park system. Apparently, they also spend a lot of their time blogging:

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Climbing Meakandake (active volcano in Hokkaido)

The ranger-bloggers for the Kanto region update more frequently:
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A “song-house” in the Southern Japan Alps National Park.

And here are the folks in the Tohoku region:
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Hikers hailing from the Tokyo metro area contemplate a waterfall during an apple-picking tour in the Shirakami mountain area.

There are also blogs for the Chubu, Shikoku, and Kinki regions. Even if you don’t read Japanese, you can scroll around the site to see some interesting nature shots courtesy of the Japanese government.