Case file · Cryptid
The Mikata tsuchinoko carcass
In 2000 a dead 'tsuchinoko' was found in Mikata, Hyōgo, and the town promoted it as the first real specimen; examination pointed to an ordinary snake.
2000 CE · 35.45, 134.56 · status: explained
The account
The find came during a tsuchinoko boom in which towns offered rewards and staged hunts. The Japan Times reported in 2001 on how the town used the find to draw tourists.
The sceptical view
The body was identified as a known species, probably a rat snake, swollen or deformed by decay.