Japanese hare
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Japanese hare young are born with open eyes and a full coat of fur.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Japanese hare
- Scientific name
- Lepus brachyurus
- Japanese name
- ニホンノウサギ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Lagomorpha
- Family
- Leporidae
- Genus
- Lepus
This page covers the Japanese hare as a species; the Tohoku hare of snowy regions and the Kyushu hare of regions with little snow are among its subspecies.
This hare is found naturally in Japan and nowhere else, living in grasslands and forests on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.
It does not dig burrows. It rests in thickets or behind rocks by day and comes out at night to grassy places with plenty of food.
It eats grass, leaves and bark. In northern Japan, when snow covers the grass in winter, it eats buds and seedlings.
How the Japanese hare lives
They usually move about alone. In some regions, their brown summer coats turn white in winter. The young can move around soon after birth.
多摩動物公園University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web多摩動物公園Basic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 48–54 cm多摩動物公園
- Weight
- 2.2–2.9 kg多摩動物公園
- Lifespan
- up to 4 years in the wildUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)多摩動物公園
- Diet
- Tree buds, leaves, grass, branches, and bark多摩動物公園
- Range
- Japan: the Pacific side of Honshu from Tohoku southward, Shikoku, and Kyushu多摩動物公園
Where the Japanese hare has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ニホンノウサギ
- 简体中文
- 日本兔
- 繁體中文
- 日本兔
- 한국어
- 일본멧토끼
- Español
- Liebre japonesa
- Français
- Lièvre à courte queue
- Deutsch
- Japanischer Hase
- Português (Brasil)
- Lebre-japonesa
- Italiano
- Lepre giapponese
- Русский
- Японский заяц
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — ニホンノウサギ（キュウシュウノウサギ）Checked: 2026-11-03
- 多摩動物公園 — ニホンノウサギ（トウホクノウサギ）Checked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Lepus brachyurusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Japanese hare, look for this
- Look at their fur, which varies from brown to reddish brown.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Japanese hare
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Leporidae
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