Elaphe quadrivirgata, the Japanese Four-lined Ratsnake, or Japanese Striped Snake (Japanese: shimahebi = striped snake) is a non-venomous snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

 native to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is found in all areas of the country apart from the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

. It typically grows to a length of 1-1.5 meters. The snake has yellow or light brown ground color, and gets its name from the four black lengthwise stripes sported by most of the species. All-black variants exist; these are known in Japan as karasu-hebi (crow snakes).

Juveniles are reddish and instead of lengthwise stripes have crosswise stripes and a spotted pattern similar to some venomous snakes.
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Elaphe quadrivirgata is an active, diurnal snake. It feeds on a variety of prey items, including frogs, lizards, insects, rodents, as well as birds and their eggs.