When we think of poisonous mushrooms, the first thing that comes to mind is the red cap and white spots of the "fly agaric." A post by someone who had been searching for such a mushroom for many years and finally found it in Hokkaido has become a hot topic on social media.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Ten years of hard work!!! Finally!! Finally! I found a fly agaric!! Yay!!! Hokkaido is the best!!!

Quoted from @indiana1974's post

The photo shows colorful mushrooms. What's more, it looks like a frog is sitting on the mushroom in the foreground. The post has received over 150,000 likes, with comments such as "It looks like an illustration from a picture book," "The contrast is beautiful," and "The frog is so cute."

After 14 years of searching, I finally found it while cosplaying!

The poster is Junya Sato, the representative of Ikimon Co., Ltd., a Tokyo toy manufacturer that produces toys with natural science and art motifs. In 2010, he made capsule toy mushroom figures, and when he saw a fly agaric in the lineup, he began searching for the real thing. Since there are only a few places where you can see them in Honshu, it was difficult to find one, and after 14 years of searching, he finally found one around Lake Toya in Hokkaido.

"Kinoko Soft Strap" released in 2010

Sato is also a big fan of the manga "Golden Kamuy," which is set in Hokkaido. During his business trip to Hokkaido, he visited the holy sites dressed as the main character, Sugimoto, and when he found the fly agaric, it was just like a scene from the manga.

At the time, I never thought that an image I took in such a silly outfit would go viral...

In three days, Mr. Sato visited Upopoy, Noboribetsu Bear Ranch, Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch, Otaru Herring Palace, Sapporo Beer Factory, and Hokkaido Historical Village.

In fact, the two in the foreground are lifelike figures.

There's a secret behind the posted photo. At first glance, it looks like three vibrant mushrooms are growing, but the two in the foreground are capsule toys sold by Ikimon Co., Ltd.! They look so realistic and cute that many people mistake them for the real thing, and Sato's message, "The two in the foreground are figurines! Don't get me wrong! Sorry!" was flooded with comments like "I thought they were real" and "They look so natural."

"Nature Technicolor MONOPLUS Mushroom and Tree Frog Figure Mascot & Ball Chain 2" 8 types in total, 500 yen each, scheduled to be released in December 2024

The figurine of a tree frog riding on a mushroom in the foreground of the photo is a new product scheduled for release in December. In addition to this, the store also carries other unique and adorable products such as mushroom magnets and earplug collections. If you're interested, why not get one for yourself?

Finally, if humans eat this "fly agaric", it can affect the nerves in the brain, causing dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, and difficulty breathing. There is also a possibility that the white spots may be accidentally removed and mistaken for other mushrooms. Please be careful.