She is at war with Princess Mononoke -- a young woman raised by a wild wolf.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG

There are so many others that in the end, Princess Mononoke rises to the grand scale and spectacle of a Kurosawa epic.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG

It has been a grand year for Japanese films, and they don't come much grander than Hana-bi, a poetic, violent masterpiece from Kitano "Beat" Takeshi, and Princess Mononoke, a superb animation by Miyazaki Hayao.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG

Hirauchi Kaichu onsen, the tidal pool in which the man and I were poaching, is on Yakushima, an island whose cedar forest earned a spot on Unesco's World Heritage List (and was the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's anime classic "Princess Mononoke").

WSJ: Soak Up Japan's Oases of Calm (Bonus: Snow Monkeys)