The Japan Coast Guard says one of its patrol boats has taken rare footage of a school of around 30 dolphins swimming alongside the vessel for about 10 minutes.
The encounter took place on Thursday morning, while the patrol boat was about 2.5 kilometers north of a remote island in Matsuyama City in the Seto Inland Sea.
The Matsuyama Coast Guard Office says its crews have previously spotted dolphins during their patrols, but they have rarely seen so many and at such close range.
The crew member who first spotted the 30 or so dolphins says, “I have never seen so many of them up close before, except in aquariums.”