The Giant Snake of Saijo Town is a cryptid reported from Saijo Town, Shobara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
Saijo Town is famous for sightings of the Japanese bigfoot cryptid hibagon, but there are several other cryptids, including the Giant Snake of Saijo Town.
When cryptid researchers and writers Takeshi Nakazawa and Okayuu conducted field research in hibagon, they heard several stories about giant snakes from nearby residents.
An elderly woman interviewed by them testified that her uncle had told her about a giant snake that lived in a mountain water source. She said that her uncle's work successor thought the story was false, but that he had actually seen a green giant snake in the area.
Another time, when an old woman's husband took a guest to the mountains, they passed near a water source and found many logs lying around. They decided to sit on them and rest, but her husband realised that these were snakes. It was part of the body of a giant snake with a five-coloured sheen. Hearing this story, Takeshi Nakazawa analysed that the snake must have been quite large, as it would not normally think of sitting on a thin fallen tree.
Prefectural forest official Naoto Iori （伊折直人）mentioned that there is a story of a giant snake in Mt. Ryūō. He recounted that he had actually seen a giant snake, which was as thick as a log. However, he thought this might have been nothing more than a large Japanese rat snake.
These snakes are unlikely to be a single individual, as they have been sighted for a long time. Hence, they are unlikely to be abandoned pets and may be a special population that inhabits the area.
Source[]
- https://web-mu.jp/history/22864/
- https://youtu.be/RD5k8A7IEzM?si=2OBP4jMCITXnG2Pn
- https://youtu.be/_rNlZOG8X24?si=RErl3tQaW1WD1HbB