Japanese diver has been visiting his best friend for 25 years (4 photos + 1 video)

A Japanese diver became friends with the fish he saved from death and has seen it almost every day for 25 years. And although some Internet users think that his girlfriend looks creepy, the diver claims that they understand each other perfectly. As the Japanese says, the fish recognizes his face and even allows himself to be stroked and kissed.

Diver Hiruoki Arakawa, who works at an underwater park off the coast of the Japanese city of Tateyama, is already 79 years old, but despite his age, he goes underwater almost every day to spend time with his friend - a large, unusual-looking fish. As the man told the Great Big Story website, their friendship has been going on for 25 years and during this time the two managed to become so close that the fish even allows the Japanese to stroke and kiss it.

The friendship between Hiruoka and the fish began when a Japanese man found her at the gates of the underwater park where he works. According to him, she was very weak and could not get her own food. The man fed her crabs for 10 days, and the animal regained its strength. During these ten days, the Japanese diver became so attached to the fish that he began to visit it regularly.

“I think she knows that I saved her and helped her when she was injured. I think anyone can bond with an animal in the same way if they feed it.

Scientists believe that some species of fish can actually distinguish human faces, although, unfortunately, this has not yet been scientifically tested. Hiruoki claims that the fish recognizes his face, because how else can one explain the fact that not every person allows it to stroke and kiss itself. You can watch how two friends spend time underwater in a video shot by the Great Big Story website.

The fish the diver befriended is an Asian sheephead wrasse, and it can hardly be called the most attractive creature in the ocean due to the spherical projections on its forehead and chin. But the Japanese claims that its snout up close is very similar to a human face, and if you get close to the animal, you can even recognize someone you know.