Iwakkie

Iwakkie is a lesser-known cryptid from Hokkaido, Japan, often depicted as a bear-like creature with unusual white markings and eyes that glint red under torchlight. Unlike standard brown bears of the region, Iwakkie is said to move with strange, jerky motions, almost as if partially lame or haunted by injury. Some local hunters believe it to be the ghost of a bear wronged by poachers, returned to stalk campsites and leave claw marks in snow near sleeping tents. Zoologists dismiss such stories as embellishments on encounters with old or diseased bears. Nonetheless, Iwakkie continues to haunt winter tales in Hokkaido, blending natural predator fears with ghostly folklore that ties the wilderness to unresolved human trespasses.