Grace Avvenire (Kochi)
For centuries, people have been tirelessly trying to prove the existence of mermaids. Fortunately, they need look no further! Mermaids have been thriving amongst us for nearly a century—and you may even know one. “Mermaiding” has been gaining popularity all around the world and, over the last decade, it’s started to find its way into Japanese society.
Although it’s not exactly known when the first human decided to don a tail recreationally, the first recorded instance of mermaiding for a profit was in 1947 at the amusement park known as Weeki Wachee located in Florida, United States. With the aid of air hoses, a troupe of 19 girls performed underwater acrobatics in above ground tanks for curious onlookers. Some of these stunts involved wearing tails and swimming gracefully through the water—ultimately becoming the world’s first mermaid shows. After the park became well-known, girls from as far as Japan came to audition for the chance of becoming a mermaid show girl.
(State Archives of Florida)
(Florida’s Adventure Coast Visitors Bureau)
However, it wasn’t until recently that mermaid culture started to take root in Japan. Around ten years ago, mermaids such as Masato Endo (who is now one of the most well-known mermaids in Japan) started showcasing their talents on social media, inspiring many Japanese people to do the same. He now runs an account with around two thousand followers. Around the same time, Scuba Schools International (SSI), a widely recognized scuba diving organization, started offering licences in mermaiding worldwide. This allowed businesses such as “The Mermaid Academy Japan” to open in places like Nagoya. There, anyone aspiring to learn this fantastical art can pay to take a course and be taught by a certified instructor.
Through the scuba diving organization known as PADI, aspiring “mers” can earn three different licenses (Basic Mermaid, Mermaid, and Advanced) while SSI offers a single “Mermaid” license. For curious individuals simply seeking to dip their toes (or fins) in—and who are not interested in shelling out tens of thousands of yen on a certificate—both organizations also offer discovery courses, which teach the basics without license acquisition.
Although it can be difficult to make a living solely off of mermaiding, it is entirely possible to “go pro.” Neighboring countries such as China and South Korea have even started hosting their own mermaid performance and photo competitions, with China holding the 2021 Guinness World Record for the biggest underwater mermaid show. Although Japan has yet to offer their own official competitions, the group ADEX, the largest ocean exploration and trade show in Asia, has held mermaid shows in Japan. Additionally, many mermaids are able to find work performing in aquariums, restaurants, festivals, and hotels, such as the Hosenbo Lounge in Ehime prefecture, where a mermaid visits the hotel pool weekly.
Many mermaids share the same love of the sea and use their flashy appearance to raise awareness for beach and ocean pollution as well as global warming, hosting events such as beach cleanups and coral planting.
So, what takes place during the mermaid license acquisition process, and how do you actually become a mermaid in Japan? I decided to take the plunge, and bought a plane ticket to Aichi to find out.
The Mermaid Academy Japan opened in 2020, founded by Goto Shoko (who goes by her mermaid name, Shellina). She got her start in mermaiding in 2016 after finding the art through social media.
In addition to training mermaids, Shellina was recently able to use her expertise in the hobby as an advisor for the new drama “Titanic Ocean” which debuted in the 2026 International Cannes Film Festival. The drama follows three teenage girls who are attending school to learn how to become professional mermaids. According to her Instagram profile, Shellina was able to help with supervision and costuming for the project.
The school offers a wide selection of tails, which participants can reserve for their sessions in the pool, ranging in length, color, and pattern. I chose a pale pink number with lilac accents. After paying 20,000 yen, I was able to access the PADI Basic Mermaid e-learning course, which took around 20 minutes to complete, and ran through some basic safety elements of mermaiding.
I joined a class with three other individuals—two women and a man. We were all from different walks of life, but we shared the same dream. Together, we signed waivers and changed into our previously reserved tails.
Sitting by the edge of the pool, we slipped our feet into an appropriately sized monofin (a plastic appendage similar to normal snorkel fins, but fused together), before shimmying our legs and waist into our new, colorful tail. I had pictured the donning of the tail as something more akin to putting on skinny jeans but, to my relief, it was made of comfortable and stretchy water-permeable fabric that was easy to wiggle into while still fitting snugly.
After our transformation, we galumphed over to a backdrop of a mystical underwater scene set up a few feet from the pool, where we took a quick commemorative photo before hopping in. I was grateful for this, as the “after” photo with the new additions of matted hair and smeared makeup didn’t look nearly as majestic.
We started off with the basics, simply swimming from one side of the pool to the other as the teacher took videos and made minor corrections. This, too, was surprisingly easy! I imagined the tail to feel like a straight jacket and had a horrible vision of me drowning in peach-colored nylon by the “3-foot” sign. But, thanks to the monofin, which helps mers to secure their feet so they can kick both legs simultaneously, I was able to naturally glide through the water. After this, we practiced underwater flips, descending and ascending, how to equalize our ears with a mask, and how to relieve calf cramps while still in the water. For the final test, we swam the entire length of the pool without a mask, which was more difficult than I expected, as I forgot I would not be able to see. After I officially “passed,” we were allowed free time in the pool to play with our tails, while the instructor took videos of us.
It’s not surprising that in the land of Harajuku fashion there will always be individuals willing to break the status quo. Just swap the thigh-high platform boots for a shimmering waist high tail, or the helmet of hair clips for a sea-shell tiara. “I was already 35 when I discovered mermaiding,” said Shellina. “I was hesitant to aspire to be a mermaid because it was an image of little girls and young women. However, I felt that if I didn’t take on the challenge now, as I was at the youngest age of my life, I would never be able to do it, so I decided to live my life making my dreams come true, no matter what anyone thought.”
She went on to create The Mermaid Academy in Nagoya just four years after discovering mermaiding. Since then, she has helped over one hundred people realize their childhood dreams, which was her main goal when creating the institute. “Many people have dreamed of becoming mermaids since they were young,” she said when asked about the appeal of mermaiding in Japan. “Because Japanese culture is concerned about body shape and age, many are still too embarrassed to try it.”
Shellina wanted to make sure The Mermaid Academy was more than just a studio to learn a new skill, but a place of acceptance. Her practice is advertised as being welcome to anyone, and she’s had mermaids from all walks of life come—clientele ranging from “children to 80-year-olds, women, men, and transgender people.”. In fact, in my own lesson, I was the youngest person there. Of the three other individuals that joined me, a man and two women, all were in their 60s. When someone completed a trick, even if they struggled, the rest of us would pat the water with our hands—this is known as “mermaid clapping.”
After we finished our session, I was surprised to see a whole pod of about 10 women of various ages enter the changing room to slip into their own non-rental fins. As I was leaving, I had to tip-toe over plastic gems and golden chains, as the lobby had been converted into an arts and crafts corner for a separate group of mers, each making their own intricate pieces of body jewelry. This wasn’t just a simple hobby, it was a way to create community.
For some, it’s difficult to feel like they belong in society. They are told they are too old to achieve their dreams, not the right gender, or that they are not serious enough about their future. It can be hard to find a place where you feel like you belong and can forget about the judgements of others. The Mermaid Academy, though unassuming from the outside, is an oceanic paradise in a sea of concrete—a sanctuary for those looking to be free of the constraints of society and find a way to bring magic into their lives. It’s a place where everyone is welcome, where no dream is unachievable—if you can turn yourself into a mermaid, then nothing else seems impossible! “I wanted to create a place for people like me who hesitate to achieve their dreams,” said Shellina. Since its creation, she has helped hundreds of mermaids discover their abilities and hopes to help many more. Why not try on a tail and see what this whimsical community has to offer?
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