On December 7th,2022, 桂浜水族館 Katsurahama Aquarium (@katurahama_aq) in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan, updated its Twitter account with an unusual photo.

Some netizens were startled, some were amused, and others couldn't make heads or tails of it.

In the foreground, there's a seal, which shouldn't be surprising, since this is an aquarium. We can't see the seal's face, since it's only shown from its back. But it's what the seal is looking at that makes the photo stand out from the rest.

See for yourself:

Reproduced with permission from 桂浜水族館 Katsurahama Aquarium (@katurahama_aq)

There's a very muscular man in a tank top standing in front of him...!

As it turns out, it's an aquarist who happens to enjoy bodybuilding as a hobby when he's not taking care of seals and other sea creatures at Katsurahama Aquarium.

He definitely seems to have the seal's undivided attention.

Maybe he's thinking, "What can I do to get strong like he is?" or maybe he's just thinking: "Why the heck is he standing there like that." In any case, it's a surreal and funny photo that has been getting a lot of attention, as well as eliciting comments such as:

  • "I laughed the hardest today."
  • "Maybe the seal is into it, and is showing off his muscles in return!"
  • "I imagine the seal being perplexed at first, then clapping with its fins."
  • "It's like a Pokémon battle scene!"

It certainly made for a great picture and he may have gained the approval of that seal but let's hope he didn't catch a cold after that. After all, it's December!


By - grape Japan editorial staff.