We've all seen lobsters, and many of us have even seen them up close. From mottled brown, even orange and blue, they can be quite colorful in appearance, and while they may be good at hiding, it's hard to miss one when it's out in the open or swimming in a tank.

However, far fewer people know what lobsters look like when they're babies.

Just yesterday, however, many people made this discovery when Twitter user でんか Denka (@K_theHermit) posted a photo on his account:

Reproduced with permission from でんか Denka (@K_theHermit)

Denka travels throughout Japan, skin diving and collecting living marine life specimens as well as raising and photographing them.

He found a baby lobster, known in Japanese as イセエビ ise-ebi (or in kanji, 伊勢海老).

Although small enough to fit on the tip of a finger, this little fella already had the appearance of an adult lobster.

The gap between this cute baby form and the adult lobsters we usually see is quite surprising!

You can already see the long antennae, one of the characteristics of lobsters!

At this stage of their lives, lobsters are also called ガラスエビ garasu ebi*, glass ebi because of their beautiful transparency.

* In case you're wondering why lobster is also called エビ in Japanese, the word エビ ebi (海老 or 蝦 in kanji) is used to refer to all members of the Decapod order of crustaceans with the exception of the Brachyura (true crabs) and the Anomura groups (which includes things like hermit crabs and their relatives). Basically, it covers shrimp, prawns, crayfish, and lobsters.

Some of the comments the little "glass" baby elicited were:

  • "I've never seen one before! It's so pretty!"
  • "It's beautiful, like glasswork."
  • "It's an overdose of cuteness!"

Knowing that baby lobsters are so cute and beautiful, you may be a little hesitant to eat them later when they grow up...

In addition to steamed, boiled, and grilled lobster, you can also enjoy lobster as sashimi in Japan. But just like in most countries, no matter how it's prepared, you can expect it to be expensive when you find it.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.