Thanks to a popular comic book, Akabane has become somewhat famous as a town with a "supernatural atmosphere." While some tourists are apprehensive about the "bars that are open from the morning," there's actually an even more surreal place there.

That place is "Akabane Kamegaike Benten." It's a small shrine in a residential area, yet for some reason, it's teeming with turtles!

Why there are so many turtles in such a small shrine is a mystery, but I went to investigate whether or not there are any Japanese pond turtles among that horde. 　(Nihedon @ KesaranPasaran Lab)

Long ago, there was a large pond in the area around the west exit of Akabane Station, called Kamegaike (Turtle Pond).

This pond served as a natural defense on the west side of Inazuke Castle (now Seish?ji Temple). It was dimly lit even during the day, and countless turtles lived in a small shrine in one corner.

A particularly large turtle had a shell circumference of 8.9 feet; small children would climb on it and play, but it is said that it would hide and never come out when an adult approached.

Furthermore, legend says that a pair of large snakes also lived in the pond.

The current Kamegaike Benzaiten pond is said to be a remnant of that Kamegaike, and the shrine on the island in the middle was once located in a corner of Kamegaike, housing a statue of Benzaiten.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any Japanese pond turtles ("Ishigame"), but there seemed to be a few Chinese pond turtles ("Kusagame") scattered around Akabane Kamegaike Benzaiten. About 10% of the turtles seemed to be Chinese pond turtles, the kind that have three protruding bands on their shells.

As a fan of Japanese turtles, I was initially relieved, but what caught my attention was the presence of a turtle that had three protruding bands on its shell, but also a red line on its neck. Could it be a hybrid of a red-eared slider and a Chinese pond turtle?

Red-eared sliders have an incredibly high reproductive rate and are listed among the "World's 100 Worst Invasive Alien Species," so perhaps hybridization with Japanese turtles is also progressing? Could someone please enlighten m