A tiny city has dubbed itself the world’s “residence of aliens” because it studies a whole lot of UFO sightings and even has a laboratory that claims to have fragments of crashed spaceships.
The Japanese Iino-machi group leans on its love of all issues extraterrestrial, with alien statues, a UFO research laboratory, and even a viewing tower for observing the skies.
With a inhabitants of lower than 5,000, the seemingly creepy metropolis is surprisingly energetic, particularly intergalactic life.
And it was reported by native researchers that round 450 UFOs had been sighted close to the town and close by Senganmori mountain in 2022.
Eerie photos seem to point out flying saucer-like objects hovering close to the town which has embraced its standing as a beacon for all issues alien.
Legends of alien sightings and mysterious spacecraft landings have surfaced within the metropolis for the reason that Nineteen Seventies.
The town is residence to the UFO Fureai Kan (The Iino UFO Museum) and The Worldwide UFO Laboratory, which is devoted to researching the phenomena.
The lab even says it has items of the alleged spacecraft that crashed from Roswell and was attributable to put them on public show in 2021 earlier than Covid cancels the exhibit.
Toshio Kanno, director of the museum, informed The Solar On-line that the town has been suffering from unusual occasions for hundreds of years.
However whereas these had been as soon as attributed to spirits and magic, they’re now extra generally attributed to aliens.
“Senganmori has been surrounded by myths and legends since historical instances attributable to its robust magnetic subject,” Kanno mentioned.
Mount Senganmori is positioned within the coronary heart of Fukushima, a area made tragically well-known by the devastating earthquake, subsequent tsunami and close to nuclear meltdown that struck in 2011.
The 1,515-foot mountain with its Sphinx-shaped megaliths positioned close by in a sample is widely known by locals as a UFO magnet attracting house life to Earth.
Some even imagine that the summit hides an alien air base beneath its gigantic construction and that the relic acts as an antenna for house guests.
Fans say they’ve recovered greater than 3,000 objects of intergalactic origin, related to centuries of mythology surrounding what residents imagine could also be an historical pyramid.
Unusual historical pottery discovered close by seems to show “alien” figures and strange patterns.
And so, might this mountain function a beacon for incoming alien guests and UFOs?
Locals appear to suppose in order guests from outer house have change into a part of the identification that runs all through the town.
The town shows extraterrestrial-themed sights on each nook, together with spaceship bus stops, alien statues, and even an alien highway information.
Iinomachi’s mascot is a small white alien who factors his ET-like finger at a golden flying saucer that may be noticed on store home windows, native retailers, and even the abandoned city sq..
Unsurprisingly, the small space has a prized ramen dish served in a stone bowl that’s mentioned to draw alien guests.
Kanno informed The Solar On-line, “In 1992, the nationwide authorities’s regional improvement mission led to the development of UFO Fureai Kan, and concrete improvement centered on the UFO theme started.”
Hundreds of space-related supplies are housed within the museum, from photographic panels of sightings to some 935 categorized CIA paperwork containing information of UFO analysis donated by Japanese UFO researcher Kinichi Arai.
Arai was the founding father of the Japan Flying Saucer Affiliation, which he based in 1955, and likewise constructed a UFO library in Gotanda, Tokyo.
About 3,000 of the museum’s 5,000 items had been donated from his in depth assortment following his demise in 2002.
“Among the roughly 1,000 CIA paperwork are all the time on show, however different paperwork could also be proven to the general public throughout occasions,” Kanno added.
Fans are sometimes seen scrambling round making an attempt to translate them for themselves, particularly on June 24, which has been dubbed World UFO Day.
Among the many archive of historic documentation, the museum additionally shows statues of assorted human conceptions of aliens, literature on the weird creatures and even reveals a 3D movie on alien lore in a digital theater.
These tales have helped construct a tourism trade from the bottom up with an estimated 30,000 folks making the pilgrimage to the museum every year, which sits midway up Mount Senganmori.
Iinomachi hosted its first UFO competition final 12 months to mark the museum’s thirtieth anniversary, throughout which attendees dressed up in alien costumes and took half in parades and competitions.
Alien followers flock to the small city to affix of their weird celebrations as customer numbers have reportedly grown 1.6 instances since final 12 months alone.
The Fukushima-based Worldwide UFO Institute was additionally established in the summertime of 2021, and in 2022 they reported a complete of 452 sightings.
About 125 of those sightings had been supported by pictures and one other 24 by video proof.
Kanno mentioned essentially the most weird sighting that was reported from the town was “a number of orange UFOs flying in formation.”
UFO Fureaikan works alongside the institute and infrequently shows folks’s proof to members of the general public in an effort to maintain the alien spirit alive.
“As a part of our efforts to show the town right into a ‘UFO village’, we
centered on creating a spread of UFO-related merchandise, together with souvenirs and connoisseur meals,” Kanno mentioned.
Fukushima has slowly risen from the ashes following one of many worst disasters in historical past on March 11, 2011.
After coping with 168 billion in damages, Fukushima has been slowly rebuilding itself and the UFO metropolis is simply one of many methods they’re revitalizing and bringing life again to the group.
Kanno mentioned: “It’s encouraging to notice {that a} important quantity of people that needed to evacuate Iino after the nuclear accident have returned to their hometowns, having discovered of the continuing revitalization efforts.
“We’re grateful for his or her belief and assist and can proceed to work onerous to create a protected and thriving group for everybody in Iino.”
