Japanese Spider 2005-09-29

I don't like spiders. I don't mind watching them (or taking a photo of one), but what really bothers me is walking through the trees at night wondering if a spider like this has just finished buidling a new web directly across the trail in front of me. (I saw this spider in Sendai, where we stayed in a cabin in the trees.) This is a common Japanese spider. It's big -- well over an inch long if you include the legs. This one's web started on the side of a house and connected to a tree branch about ten feet away. The "bug catching zone" was about four feet wide (at about chest level). Our friends assured us that these spiders are harmless (unless you're a bug, of course). But if I ever walk into a web and get one of these on my face, then it might be dangerous for anyone directly behind me. :)