Insects have long been honored in Japan—samurai warriors embroidered the dragonfly, the victory insect, on their armor, and the songs of suzumushi (crickets) have been celebrated in haiku for centuries. Today’s ultra-urban Japanese culture embraces insects with a reverence and sincerity that may surprise Westerners. There are more than 180 species of crying insects in Japan, and selling them is a lucrative business. What better way to observe the never-ending cycle of nature than to take a pet that can be comfortably housed in a shoebox home to your compact Tokyo apartment? While we travel in the autumn to see the colors of changing leaves, the Japanese travel to resorts to watch fireflies, the insect of unrequited love. This gently probing story is told by the people who collect, admire, sell, and revere a wide variety of these diminutive denizens of nature.  TBW