79-year-old diver and giant fish have been friends for 30 years after he had saved her life when she was hurt: 'I guess she knows that I saved her… that I helped when she was badly injured'

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Jun 17, 2026 4:15 PM EDT

Are you a dog person, a cat person… or a fish person?

You might think that the answer to the question is a simple one. Cats are adorable, everyone knows that. Dogs are the cutest, and they are man's best friend and all. They are emotionally intelligent, they get attached to us as much as we are attached to them, they can be our friends for lifetimes… the reasons are endless, and none of them apply to fish too, right? Wrong.

Maybe not all fish are intelligent and playful and loving, but some are. Some have strong memories and very strong feelings about some people. The same way that a cat or dog remembers when you show them kindness, some fish remember too. Of course, when this diver rescued this fish and nursed it back to health, he didn't think that it would lead to a 30-year friendship, but that is exactly what happened, because the fish remembered.

So, sure, maybe not all fish are funny and playful, but this one is. And maybe the chances of you becoming best friends with a giant fish are low, but they are certainly not zero, and we promise you, it is far cuter than anything you are imagining.

01

via Great Big Story
It's not every day that we encounter a friendship that feels like it's straight out of a Disney movie. Hiroyuki Arakawa, a Japanese diver, has started diving when he was 18 years old. Now, at the age of 79, he's still diving, and along the way, he has made one very special friend.
02

via Great Big Story
Yoriko is an Asian sheepshead wrasse - a giant fish with a human-like face and a large forehead. She first met Arakawa 30 years ago when he was part of a construction crew of an underwater Shinto temple gate 56 feet beneath the surface of Japan’s Tateyama Bay.
03

via Great Big Story
Yoriko lives by the shrine's gate, and one day, when Arakawa was diving, he noticed that she looked strange. She was injured and exhausted,unable to catch food for herself. Arakawa, who already had a certain fondness for the giant fish, couldn't let her waste away. So, for the following 10 days, he hand-fed her 5 crabs a day - until she got better.
04

via Great Big Story
Although fish are not an animal we often think of as intelligent, clearly, Yoriko remembered the kindness that Arakawa showed her. Because ever since that day, she has bonded with him just as much as he had bonded with her. She lets Arakawa touch her, she's playful with Arakawa, and a viral video of her cutely bothering Arakawa while he works is how we came across their story in the first place.
05

via Great Big Story
“I’d say we understand each other,” Arakawa said in an interview for Great Big Story, talking about his bond with Yoriko, “not that we talk to each other… I kissed her once. I’m the only person she’ll let do it.” He explained that saving her life all those years ago is something that he's really proud of.
06

via Great Big Story
“I’m not sure if it’s the nature of the kobudai or not. It’s probably because there is a sense of trust between us. I guess she knows that I saved her… that I helped when she was badly injured. So for me to be able to do that, I am proud,” Arakawa explains. “I have an amazing sense of accomplishment in my heart.”
07

via applegenius24
08

via @AKBrews
09

via @AKBrews
10

via @AKBrews
11

via @AKBrews
12

via @AKBrews
13

via @AKBrews
14

via @AKBrews
15

via @MagnumIP
16

via @Mayawiththebell
17

via @Lauracrezz
18

via @amandadeibert
19

via @thoughtproven
20

via @ByStephenJones
21

via @tryntogetby