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Tuesday, 29th December 2015
In General Japan News,
Giant squid spotted off Japan's coastline
A rare giant squid was spotted in the waters off Japan on Christmas Eve (December 24th), delighting all those who managed to catch a glimpse of its form in the water.
Not only were spectators amazed by the sight, visible from a pier in Toyama Bay on the island of Honshu, but footage of the creature was also captured.
Measuring in at 12-foot long, the squid is considered small for its species, but still an incredible thing to see.
Giant squid can grow to as long as 40 feet and are usually only found in deep waters and therefore very rarely seen in the wild.
Akinobu Kimura, the owner of a local diving shop, swam alongside the squid and captured it on film, CNN reports.
He told the news provider: “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.”
The only other giant squids that have been seen in Toyama Bay this year have been caught up in fishermen’s nets and dead or nearly dead by the time they have been discovered.
Scientists do not know why the squid made its way into the marina in the Sea of Japan, as conditions out at sea and the weather were fair.
It gave bystanders the opportunity to see its incredible red form, however, and is likely to be something they won’t forget in a hurry.
Toyama Bay is the spawning ground for another species, the firefly squid, but is best known among tourists for the mirages of the horizon that occur during the winter months.
It is located some 250 kilometres to the northwest of Tokyo.