What is Issie?
Issie is a cryptid said to live in Lake Ikeda in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, the largest lake in Kyushu. Its name was coined after Scotland’s Nessie, taking the first letter of Lake Ikeda.
The 1978 group sighting
In 1978, people gathered on the lakeshore reportedly saw a black, hump-like object moving across the surface of the lake, and the story became national news. Reports followed of “two humps on its back” and “an object about 10 to 20 meters long swimming,” and a statue of Issie now stands on the lakeshore.
What is Issie really?
Large giant mottled eels live in Lake Ikeda, with individuals nearly 2 meters long known. The leading theories are therefore that Issie is a giant eel, several fish swimming in a line, or waves mistaken for a creature. No evidence has been found of a large animal such as a surviving dinosaur.
