It's not every day we see a mysterious creature from the deep surface into plain sight. Appearances of giant squids are extremely rare and no more than a myth.

This footage provided by Diving Shop Kaiyu which was uploaded by CNN, shows an incredibly rare sighting of a giant squid swimming through Toyama Bay in Japan.

The unusual appearance of the creature, also known as a firefly squid, happened on Christmas Eve. The owner of the local Diving Shop Kaiyu, Akinobu Kimura, captured the squid by an underwater camera as it swam around the bay and said that after he spotted it on camera, he decided to jump in the water and join it. According to Kimura, the creature was not damaged and looked lively, spurting ink and trying to entangle his tentacles around him, CNN reported.

The 3.7-metre-long (12.1 feet) squid was seen cruising under fishing boats for several hours and was guided by Kimura to safety, back to the open water.

Tags: cnn giant squid Kraken