Episode 29 -

In this episode of Strangers in the Sky, we dive deep into the mystery of the Utsuro-Bune — the strange “hollow boat” said to have washed ashore in 1803 during the Edo period. Described in historical texts like the Toen shōsetsu, the vessel was round, metallic, and etched with symbols no one could understand. Inside was a mysterious young woman with unusual features, guarding a sealed box no villager was allowed to touch.

Was it simply folklore? A misunderstood foreign castaway? Or could the Utsuro-bune be one of the earliest recorded close encounters?