This image is supposedly showing the Lake Ikeda Monster, a mysterious beast that resides in the waters of Japan. Issie, as it is lovingly named, first became known after a sighting in the spring of 1978. However, this image was captured on December 16th, 1978.
This photograph was taken by Toshiaki Matsubara, who had been visiting the lake for days prior just hoping to see the monster that lived there. He claimed that he had seen a strange vortex swirling in the water around 1:30 in the afternoon, but it soon disappeared. A little while after that, he noticed something unusual in the water, and he snapped this photo.
Upon seeing the image, the tourism department of Ibusuki City claimed the photograph was indeed showing Issie. They were unable to detect forgery in the picture. Matsubara was rewarded with 100,000 yen for getting proof of the lake monster.
