TOKYO, Dec 29 — When it comes to sci-fi, Japan often attracts creatures from the deep, most notably Godzilla and his various nemeses.
In a strange case of life imitating art, residents of Toyama Bay in Honshu were treated to the rare sight of a giant squid swimming in its waters for a few hours on Christmas Eve.
Diving shop owner Akinobu Kimura, owner of Diving Shop Kaiyu, speaking to CNN, said that he swam close enough to the estimated 3.7m-long red-and-white cephalopod to film it, before helping to guide it back to the ocean.
“My curiosity was way bigger than fear, so I jumped into the water and go close to it,” he told the news channel.
“This squid was not damaged and looked lively, spurting ink and trying to entangle his tentacles around me. I guided the squid toward to the ocean, several hundred metres from the area it was found in, and it disappeared into the deep sea.”
While it may seem rather large, the Toyama squid is actually a fairly small example of the species, because it may be a juvenile.
Its peers are thought to grow as large as 13m long and typically inhabit deep waters.
However, sightings of giant squid have grown increasingly common in Toyama over the years, but this is the first one of the season, which runs from November to March. There were 16 reports of the sea creatures being caught in fishing nets last season, CNN reported.
