Mysterious Creatures

Find the mysterious sea creatures lurking in the shirasu!

What's shirasu, you ask?

Shirasu, also known as whitebait in English, are the small young of fish like sardines and anchovies.

They are very small and are used as a garnish or topping in many Japanese dishes, most commonly found as a simple topping for rice.

Shirasu are caught in large batches and have an opalescent white color and resemble super tiny fish!

They are cooked and salted lightly after being caught. Their close culinary cousin are chirimen, which are baby sardines that have been fully dried.

Shirasu, on the other hand, are only partially dried, and have a softer consistency.

They're a delicious and simple way to spice up a plain bowl of rice and an everyday part of cuisine in Japan.

But... there's more to them than meets the eye! Because the small fish are caught in large batches, occasionally another miniature deepsea creature gets mixed into the shirasu.

They're harmless, but you can sometimes find a mini squid, baby shrimp, or tiny fish in the mix! Of course, some are more rare than others, but this kind of seek-and-find suspense has caught on big with children and adults alike. Think of it as the deep-sea version of breakfast cereal...

This game simulates the experience of sifting through the shirasu to find mysterious little beasts. See if you can collect them all!

How to Play

★Using your fingers, sift through the shirasu and look for mysterious creatures. Tap one to add it to your collection.

★Pressing the pause button at top right will allow you to look through your collection.

★Pressing the Twitter button will allow you to tweet the number of samples you've caught of the selected specimen.

★Pressing the magnifying glass at top left will display a hint. Hints are replenished after 10 minutes.

★The game is saved each time the pause button is pressed.

※The creatures in the game have been stylized for uniformity, so their color and shape may differ from the real thing.

Art, sound, and game design: SKIPMORE

Programming: URARA-WORKS Co., Ltd.