Five-lined skink
This common type of garden lizard is called a five-lined skink. In Japanese it’s called Okada tokage, (literally, “Okada’s lizard”), or Okada’s five-lined skink. I don’t like the name “skink.” It rubs me the wrong way. It’s too close to the word “stink,” which is unfortunate for a cute little garden creature. When the warm weather started, I began seeing a skink in my neighborhood almost every day, usually in about the same location. Maybe it’s the same creature each time. Maybe it’s a male patrolling his territory in search of a mate, or something. Or, maybe it’s just my imagination.