Encounter Atlas
The tsuchinoko is a snake-like creature from Japanese folklore, 30 to 80 centimetres long with a fat middle like a beer bottle, a narrow tail and a viper's fangs. It is said to jump a metre or more, sometimes twice in a row, and in some legends it speaks, lies and likes sake. Some say it bites its tail and rolls like a wheel.
In the late 1980s it turned from yokai to cryptid after a burst of sightings. In 1988 the village of Shimokitayama in Nara Prefecture launched a Tsuchinoko Expedition with a reward of a million yen for a live capture. About 200 people joined, and nothing was found. Tsuchinoko hunts are still held as village festivals, and Shimokitayama opened a Tsuchinoko Park in 2023.
Herpetologists suggest it could be a mamushi or blue-tongued skink that has just eaten a big meal.
What witnesses report
- A short, fat-bodied snake
- Jumping leaps of a metre or more
- A squeaking or chirping sound
- Rolling like a hoop
Famous cases
- 1988Shimokitayama Tsuchinoko Expedition
Shimokitayama, Nara Prefecture - 2023Tsuchinoko Park opens
Shimokitayama, Nara Prefecture
Seen the Tsuchinoko?
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