Scientific Name: Watasenia Scintillans
Other Names: Sparkling Enope Squid
Habitat: Western Pacific Ocean

Each year off the coasts of Toyama Bay, Japan, millions of bioluminescent creatures gather to spawn. These life forms’ light show puts all others to shame. They are the “hotaruika”. The name literally translates to firefly (hotaru) squid (ika).



This squid grows to a length of around 3 inches only. It is equipped with photophores, special light-producing organs, all throughout its body. Large photophores are situated around the eyes and at the tips of its tentacles.

Theories state that the lights emitted by these squids are used to communicate with potential mates or rivals, to disguise the squid’s shape and confuse predators, or to attract prey by flashing their lights on and off.


This squid family normally lives 600 to 1,200 feet underwater. Its spawning season runs from March to May. The squids gather in the bay to lay and fertilize their eggs, then slowly begin to die after – completing their one-year life cycle.



Occasionally, the squids are forced up to the shore by the current that wells up from the v-shaped canyon in Toyama Bay. Locals refer to this phenomenon as "squids drowning themselves".

Scientists believe that this squid family has color vision due to the squids having 3 visual pigments, instead of just one which is what most cephalopods have. They also have a double-layered retina in the back of their eyes. It is hypothesized that the squids evolved and developed such features so they can distinguish between ambient light and bioluminescence, and to help them decode light patterns produced by other members of the species.



Firefly squids are also considered a delicacy in Japan and are widely fished during spawning season. Lots of tourists enjoy the view as the sea surface turns cobalt blue when fishermen haul in their catches.

There exists a museum dedicated to firefly squids in Namerikawa in Toyama prefecture – the only one in the world.

Once again, this page is from a old section called News in Japan which hasn't been a thing since about 2016. But Jappleng has a lot more to offer such as:
- Entertainment section for Anime lineup, news, reviews and more (over 14,000 anime titles!)
- Education section to learn Japanese and about Japan for free
- Club Jappleng to create and join fan clubs, study groups etc...
- Travel Guides to learn more about Japan, immigration and tourist attractions
- Community forums, dedicated chat system, J-Spot social network
- Japanese practice games and other fun stuff like Yokai Trainers
- Massive Japanese <> English dictionary with over 500,000 words
- Achievements, unlockables and more!

We're really big with over 10-million pages! This is a volunteer / free project so please consider Registering an account and being part of our awesome community!