The Kofu Encounter
Two schoolboys roller skating in Kofu saw an orange light land in a vineyard, and a figure climbed out.
What was reported
On the evening of 23 February 1975, two seven-year-old boys roller skating near a housing estate in Kofu saw two orange lights in the sky. One of them came down into a vineyard nearby.
Going closer, they said, they saw a silver, domed craft with strange writing on its side. A hatch opened, a ladder came down, and a figure with a wrinkled face and pointed ears came out and tapped one boy on the shoulder. The boys ran home, and their parents also said they saw an orange glow in the vineyard.
Explanations offered
Sceptics think the boys' story grew from something ordinary, shaped by children's imagination and by the attention it got in Japanese media. Others point out that the boys gave consistent accounts, and that adults reported the glow.
- When
- 23 February 1975
- Where
- Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan
- Witnesses
- Two seven-year-old boys
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.