Original subtitles

Directly out in front of me.

What the [bleep]? Phil, do you see that?

[Phil] You got something?

[Jessica] Hurry up and get into position

as soon as you can.

[Phil] Okay. Let's move, let's move.

Alright Jess, I'm getting there!

[Josh] On this episode of Expedition X.

My team heads to Japan

where the ill-fated Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

has been linked to a surge

in unidentified aerial phenomena

in the skies above its irradiated ghost towns.

[Phil] We started getting 100 near-irradiated zones.

[Phil] [bleep]. Level's going up.

We've got to get out of here. Get out. Keep moving.

[Josh] And when they take to flight

to investigate anomalies

above an infamous pyramid-shaped mountain...

[Jessica] Look at that,

it starts following the plane back.

[Josh] They soon discover

that the land of the rising sun

could be attracting otherworldly visitors.

[Jessica] It's traveling east to west.

[Phil] [bleep] What is that?

[Josh]The question is... Why?

[Jessica] Hold on! Oh [bleep]!

[opening theme]

[Josh] Okay guys, you're headed to Japan.

[Phil] -Yes! [Jessica] -Yes!

[Josh] Well, don't get too excited.

You're going to Fukushima.

[Phil] Oh... Where there was a nuclear disaster

more destructive than Chernobyl.

[Josh] That's the one, yes.

Fukushima suffered a triple disaster.

An earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear meltdown.

On March 11th, 2011,

a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck its eastern coast.

Huge waves of water from a tsunami rushed inland,

devastating everything in their path.

In the end, more than 20,000 people were killed,

entire towns were wiped off the map,

and water flooded the Nuclear Power Plant,

which for weeks leaked

significant amounts of radiation.

[Jessica] Yeah, it was very tragic.

[Josh] Absolutely.

If there is any good news here,

more than a decade later,

the radiation has been contained,

Fukushima has been largely rehabilitated

and some of the population

has actually moved back into the area.

Here is where things get weird:

Since then there have also been

a ton of UFO sightings.

[Phil] -What? [Jessica] -UFOs?

[Josh] UFOs. Since the disaster in 2011,

UFO sightings all around Fukushima

have been off the charts.

So much so, that the Japanese government

has actually established

a dedicated UFO research center.

And what they have found is shocking.

[suspense music]

[Josh] Japanese stories of unidentified flying objects

have roots as far back as the ninth century.

In the legendary Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,

a man discovers a beautiful humanoid alien in a forest:

Princess Kaguya.

She is offered love on Earth,

but she chooses to return to her home in the stars.

Reports of extraterrestrial encounters continue

throughout the centuries.

In 1803, a strange saucer-like craft

known as the hollow ship

reportedly washes on to Japanese shores.

[spooky sound effect]

A mysterious female alien emerges,

but is unable to communicate.

The fishermen who find her

return her to her strange craft

and it drifts away, never to be seen again.

Believers say ancient artistic depictions

corroborate the event.

[spooky sound effect]

[Josh] Reports of UFO sightings persist,

but it's in the 21st century

that tales of alien encounters really take off.

In 2007, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutka Machimora

says he believes UFOs definitely exist.

Two years later, Japan's then first lady,

Miyuki Harayama publicly claims she had been abducted

by a triangular-shaped UFO.

[spaceship sounds]

[Josh] Then comes the Fukushima disaster.

In the shocking aftermath,

a spectrum of possible UAP sightings

flood social media.

Including this video

of alleged glowing anomalies flying in the airspace

above the doomed power plant.

[action music]

[Josh] Some theorize

aliens could be attracted to radiation,

while others wonder if they're trying to stop us

from ruining our planet before it's too late.

[Josh] All this speculation

finally comes to a head in 2021,

when after considerable public pressure,

the government forms the International UFO Laboratory

near Fukushima. The world's first

state funded research center of its kind.

[Josh] So, what is going on in the skies above Fukushima?

Has science fiction become reality in Japan?

[suspense music]

[Jessica] I mean, that's a lot to process.

You've got a country

with a long fascination of UFOs,

then they go through a triple disaster

and then begin to see even more UFOs.

[Josh] Right. So, what do you think?

[Jessica] Well, when we've researched UFO sightings

in the past, they do have a tendency to show up

around nuclear facilities,

so are UFOs attracted to radiation?

I think it's a real big possibility.

[Phil] I love the idea that noble aliens

are out there looking for us

and checking in our nuclear disasters,

but I feel the most likely explanation for all this

is PTSD. I mean, think about it.

People live through a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.

The entire world shook around then.

Then a wave the size of a building,

and then a nuclear disaster.

And sadly, it's well documented

that under cases of extreme trauma,

afterwards, you can have visual hallucinations

and like trauma, these sightings

just doesn't go away.

[Josh] Here's the mission: Get to Fukushima,

and talk to a local eyewitness, Manami Yabuki.

She swears that she saw something

that is not from this world.

Try to get as close as you can

to the nuclear power plant, safely,

replicate the vantage point

of the power plant from the video,

and see if you can experience a UFO sighting for yourself.

[Jessica] We'll do it.

[Josh] Alright, great. Also, the city is contaminated,

so bring radiation suits.

[Jessica] Wait, what'd you say?

[Josh] You'll be fine.

[spooky sound effect]

[Josh] It's a 14-hour flight from New York City to Tokyo.

From there, it's a four-hour drive north to Fukushima City.

Along the way, Phil and Jess pass through areas

hard hit by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster.

[Japanese traditional music]

[Phil] Alright Jess, first thing's first.

-Get the Geiger counter going. [Jessica] -Uh huh.

[Phil] So we can monitor our levels,

because apparently, we're going to be going

through a patchwork of hot spots on our way.

[Jessica] Oof.

[spooky sound effect]

[Jessica] How are we looking right now?

[Phil] Right now, we're good. Not in the danger zone yet.

[spooky sound effect]

[Jessica] I'm assuming that the levels

are going to be pretty damned high.

[Phil] It'll let you know if we're danger.

It'll start beeping.

[Jessica] What's good? Like, what are the levels?

[Phil] Anything below 30 is considered relatively normal.

We start getting above 100, we are in an irradiated zone.

Oh, we're getting some... Some higher hits right now.

[Jessica] What are we up to?

[Phil] Around 30 right now.

[Jessica] -Still safe. [Phil] -Still safe.

[Jessica] Okay. 100 is where we've got to

start getting worried.

I mean, it's... I'm gonna be honest,

I'm going to start getting worried at around...

like, 50.

[Jessica] We head into the outskirts of Fukushima City,

which is actually about 90 miles

from the Fukushima Power Plant.

There to greet us is Manami Yabuki,

who witnessed a UFO after the nuclear radiation leak.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] Hi, Manami!

[Manami] [foreign dialogue] [Jessica] [foreign dialogue]

[Jessica] Ah, nice to meet you.

[Manami] Nice to meet you.

[Jessica] Yabuki is a Fukushimi City native

who's never put much stock in the paranormal.

But the triple disaster upended her world,

and her beliefs.

[Jessica] We wanted to talk to you

about your experience with the UFOs that you've seen.

[Phil] But first, if you're willing,

do you mind sharing what it was like

to survive the earthquake.

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing]It was actually an off day,

the afternoon.

I was sitting on the couch eating lunch.

The couch moved with the earthquake.

[tension music]

[Manai]I never felt that before.

[spooky sound effect]

[Jessica] Even here, out in the city.

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing] I remember that everything didn't look

the same as before.

[sad music]

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing]The building had moved forward

and I noticed a very strange thing.

The sky didn't look as usual.

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing]It was snowing.

There was lightning.

[thunder strikes]

So, the climate was suddenly different.

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[suspense music]

[trembling sound]

[Manami] [dubbing] It was the first time I feared death.

[Jessica] I'm sorry you had to go through that,

but I'm glad to hear that you were okay.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] After that event,

is that when you saw UFOs in the area?

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing]After the earthquake...

[Manami] [dubbing] I witnessed a light in the sky.

[Manami] [dubbing]Floating in the air,

the movement was pretty strange,

zig-zagging and no sound at all.

[Phil] What did you see, what did you hear,

how fast was it going?

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing]It was gray or black.

I remember the speed was just as fast as a bicycle.

[Jessica] Oh, that's very slow.

Could you tell what direction it was traveling in?

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing] The flying object was heading southeast.

It was hovering and then suddenly, it was very fast.

[spooky sound effect]

[Jessica] Is that also the same direction

as the nuclear plant?

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing] Yes.

[Jessica] -Okay. [Phil] -Wow.

[Jessica] Interesting.

[Phil] Was it not terrifying,

if you have no idea what this thing is

flying so close to you?

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing] Strangely, I wasn't scared at all.

I was amazed.

[Phil] How sure are you that it wasn't a...

government airplane or a stealth plane, or a drone.

[Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Manami] [dubbing]It was so close.

Usually, if it's a plane, you can hear a sound.

But, I didn't hear anything.

[Jessica] Yeah, even a drone will make noise.

[Phil] Yeah.

[Jessica] Actually, they're really noisy.

[Phil] Yeah.

[Jessica] Thank you very much for speaking with us.

[Jessica] [foreign dialogue] [Manami] [foreign dialogue]

[Jessica] Bye, bye!

[Jessica]Yabuki's UFO sighting

occurred north of the Fukushima Power Plant.

The video Josh showed us was taken from the south.

[action music]

[Jessica] The plan tonight is to split up and cover both.

Phil is headed north to find the best vantage point

to observe the area, while I'll head to the south

to try and replicate the perspective from the video

and see if I can document similar floating orbs

above the plant.

[Phil]There's a gate up ahead.

This has got to be it.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] Our route intersects a hot zone

where radiation levels in the air

are still dangerously high all these years later.

[Jessica] -This is chaos. [Phil] -Isn't it?

[Jessica] This is the most chaotic thing.

[gatekeeper] [foreign dialogue]

[Jessica] No one gets through here

without special clearance.

[gatekeeper] [foreign dialogue] [Jessica] [foreign dialogue]

[suspense music rises]

[Phil]More than 300,000 people

were forced to evacuate during the Fukushima disaster.

In the years since, cleanup and decontamination efforts

have made it possible for some residents to return,

and many communities in the no go zones

have since reopened.

So, armed with a Geiger counter

to detect radiation levels,

I'm able to ditch my hazmat suit

and proceed at my own risk as Jess drops me off.

[Phil] Many neighborhoods remain ghost towns

and the areas closest to the power plants

resemble something out of a post-apocalyptic movie.

[Phil]So, the challenge for us

is that we are essentially in a patchwork

of dangerous zones.

[Phil] So right now, we're reading medium.

This is okay to be in,

it's not necessarily a place you'd want to live.

However, if we go over the other side of that building,

or if the wind changes direction,

you could suddenly enter an area

where you're in very high levels of radiation,

an area you would not want to spend more than an hour

or you're risking increasing your exposure

and increasing your risk to something like cancer

a few years down the road.

So, we're going to be careful,

we have our suits that we can put on

at a moment's notice, but I think for now,

our best tool is our legs and we're just going

to keep walking to try to find that vantage point.

[Jessica] After dropping Phil off, I hike up a hill

that overlooks the southern side of the Fukushima Plant.

At the summit sits the surveillance camera station

where the bizarre UFO footage was recorded.

I'm most interested in the uniformity

of the glowing UAPs, and how they appear

to be flying in a coordinated manner.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] So we've been hiking for three minutes.

And I'm really out of breath. [laughs]

And we're still got an hour and 30

of hiking time to go.

Oh, man. [breathes heavily]

[suspense music]

[Phil] [sighs]

Yeah...

[breathes heavily]

[Phil] [sighs] [whispering] God, this is unreal.

[suspense music]

[music rises]

[Jessica] Here we go.

You can see they've disassembled the wires,

but down here, probably leading into power,

and up there at the top

is where the camera would have been pointed out,

towards the power plant.

[Jessica] This is perfect.

I've got a good view of the plant.

Got the ocean in the background.

Let's just set up the IR camera here.

Okay...

[spooky music]

[Phil] Back on the north side,

my search for a vantage point of Fukushima continues.

[Phil] It's been completely abandoned,

and completely overgrown. Look at this.

Unbelievable.

[Phil] [bleep] Level's going up. 165 CPM.

We need to get out of here. Get out.

I don't know if the wind just shifted.

A second ago, we were at medium levels,

that was doable, but right now it's high.

Let's keep going. Keep moving!

[Phil] [breathes heavily]

That's going down a little bit over here.

Let's keep going this direction.

High school building. Totally abandoned.

[spooky music]

[Phil] Forced to flee a pocket of radioactive air,

I approach an abandoned school,

still searching for higher ground

and a better view of the Fukushima Power Plant.

[suspense music]

[Phil] [whispering] Let's check the radiation levels.

All safe.

[device clicking]

[Phil] This is probably...

the most eerie place I've ever been in my life.

[spooky music]

[Phil] Well, there's no water damage in here,

so at least it seems like this area was safe

from the tsunami from the earthquake.

[footsteps]

[Phil] Look at this. 2010.

That is the year before the tsunami hit.

This is such a time capsule right here.

[spooky sound effect]

[Phil] Clock on the wall standing still.

That's a perfect metaphor.

[grunts]

[breathes heavily]

[Phil] Unable to find roof access,

my search for an elevated spot

to observe the skies above the power plant

goes well into the night.

Then, an idea hits me

about where to find the perfect spot.

[spooky music]

[Phil] So if you listen,

I'm hearing the ocean crashing,

which means we're getting close,

because about five years after the disaster here,

they built these giant sea walls.

Because where I'm standing right now, during the tsunami,

would have been under 15 to 20 feet of water.

So these sea walls are essentially

the first line of defense against the next tsunami,

but also for me, they'll give me great visibility,

the entire ocean, and the skies. Let's go.

[breathes heavily]

[suspense music]

[Jessica] Okay, so sun's finally down.

I've got IR on.

Start scanning, see what we get.

Alright, so that right there, that's that red tower,

blinking tower, up there.

And we've got the city over here.

So I'm just trying to kind of get...

a sense of location.

So that I don't misread some of these blinking lights,

because there are a lot of lights in the area.

Got really excited for a minute there,

but it was a bug. [laughs]

So the tricky thing is

it's a little bit of a hazy night, so...

You're getting these stars

that seem to be going in and out, but...

because they're not moving,

makes it pretty obvious

that that's some sort of constellation.

And then...

And then if one's moving pretty steady,

you know it's a satellite.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] That right there,

that is a reflection of that.

So if somebody was out here with binoculars

or something else, their own IR...

they might mistake that for a UFO,

but really that's just a reflection

of those lights down there.

[Jessica] Oh whoa, here we go, here we go. Right over here.

Directly out in front of me.

What the [bleep]?

Phil, you copy?

[Phil] Yeah, what's up?

[Jessica] I actually see something.

Do you see that?

[Phil] I'm not in position yet.

What have you got?

[Jessica] I need you to hurry up

and get into position as soon as you can.

[Phil] Okay. Let's move, let's move.

Alright Jess, I'm getting there!

Give me a second!

[breathes heavily]

[suspense music rising]

[Phil] [breathes heavily]

Oh God, look at this thing.

[breathes heavily]

Alright. We're up.

So right now I see...

I see your tall blinking light above the nuclear power plant.

What are you seeing?

[Jessica] Okay, so... hold on.

[bleep]!

Oh my God, I just saw a light go across the horizon,

up and down, and like roll off to the side!

[Phil] What direction, Jess? Guide me.

[Jessica] East to west. Starting where the plant is,

all the way across.

It was definitely not a boat.

It was just like moving independently of its own

and was kind of like going up a little bit

and then down a little bit.

It was not above the horizon line.

It was actually in between where the plant would be

and where I'm standing on the mountain.

[Phil] That sounds pretty close.

[Jessica] I know!

I didn't even see anything with my bare eyes,

it was only with the binoculars.

[Phil] East to west.

Wild...

[Jessica] I don't know what I just saw.

Oh my God, it's gone.

[Phil] [over radio] Okay, you've got something.

I'm going to set my camera up on a tripod

because I have really good visibility up here.

Didn't see what you saw, but maybe if you keep

your camera running, we'll get lucky.

[Jessica] I definitely want to keep

the cameras going tonight, absolutely.

[suspense music]

[Phil] Oh.

[Phil]We set up static cameras

at both of our locations

to observe the skies for further activity.

[suspense music]

[Phil] Okay, so we have Fukushima here on the right.

[sighs] See a bit of the horizon.

And the sky is taking up everything else.

Okay, we've got it recording.

Let's see what happens.

[Phil]Jess and I proceed to monitor

the Fukushima Plant through the night,

but our stakeout yields no additional UFO sightings.

The next morning, we meet back up

to download with Josh.

[Jessica] -Hey Josh. [Phil] -Josh.

[Josh] Hey guys. How are you?

You've got a special glow about you.

[Jessica] [laughs]

I don't know if you should be making that joke, Josh.

[Phil] It's honestly been a really haunting experience,

going through some of those radiations zones,

where the radiation levels are still incredibly dangerous.

There's some areas where people still cannot live.

[Jessica] Yeah, our alarms went off a couple times.

[Phil] Yeah.

[Josh] Alright, that's terrifying.

Stay safe out there.

How did that first investigation go?

[Jessica] So, first night investigation

actually was interesting.

We got something that I can't quite explain.

[Jessica] Hold on.

[bleep]!

[Josh] Wow.

[Jessica] Yeah, and it only showed up

on IR in night vision.

It was not there with naked eyes.

[Phil] After looking at both of the recordings

that she got of this thing, it's pretty weird.

[Josh] So Phil, are you telling me it could be a UFO?

[Phil] Well, let's just say...

we should keep our eyes on the nuclear power plant.

There could be some things flying around out there.

[Josh] Okay, great. And I wanted to touch base

because I just got an update on the access

to the International UFO Laboratory.

You're in.

This place is in Iino,

which is referred to sometimes as the Roswell of Japan.

They have a treasure trove of sensitive documents there,

and you have granted full clearance

to go and take a look at them.

[Jessica] I mean, that sound awesome.

[Josh] And there's more.

It's right next to Mount Senganmori.

Now dating back to feudal times in Japan,

this mountain was a supposed hotbed

of UFO activity.

Sightings have actually been picking up recently,

so keep on eye on the skies.

[Jessica] Cool!

[Phil] Yeah, that sounds amazing.

[Josh] Good luck.

Can't wait to see what you find.

[Phil] -See you Josh. [Jessica] -Bye, Josh.

[Phil] It's a 90-minute drive from Fukushima

to the UFO Mecca of Iino, where Jess and I pull

into the International UFO Laboratory.

Opening its doors in 2021,

the lab contains countless examples

of documentation claiming to prove

the existence of UFOs.

Including photos, video clips,

and declassified documents.

[Jessica] We're like right around here, yeah.

-Oh, that's us? [Phil] -Yeah.

[Jessica] Look at all these hot spots!

[Phil] Yeah.

[dramatic sound effect]

[Phil] And you know what's down there.

[Jessica] The power plant.

[Phil] Ooh.

-Recent sightings right here. [Jessica] -Oh, nice.

[Phil] These are all 2021.

So these are recent. Look at that.

[Jessica] This is the stuff that I'm like,

"What the heck?" Right?

Because you could not get a drone that high.

[Phil] Uh-uh.

Little white dot again.

Hard to make out what that is,

but it doesn't look like a plane.

They've kind of got it all here.

They did a really good job curating all of these...

you know, potentially legitimate sightings.

[Jessica] Yeah. I've honestly never seen

so many UFO photos in one spot.

[Phil] Yeah. This is something different.

[Jessica] It's pretty astounding.

[Phil] Yeah.

[Phil] After a quick walk through the lab,

we're able to visit with one of its founders,

Tsugio Kinoshita.

With decades of UFO research under his belt,

Kinoshita is the foremost authority

on unexplained aerial phenomena in the region.

[Jessica] Kinoshita-san,

how did you get involved in researching UFOs?

[Tsugio] [foreign dialogue]

[Tsugio] [dubbing]It really started

when I saw my first UFO.

I was 25 years old, and that was the first time

I saw something in the sky that I couldn't explain.

It was just hovering in the sky.

And then it suddenly disappeared.

I made up this picture after the incident

because I was always asked about it.

It's just how I remember it.

It looked sliver, metallic.

[Tsugio] [foreign dialogue]

[Jessica] How many sightings have you had personally

over the course of your life?

[Tsugio] [dubbing]Five sightings total.

[Jessica] Wow.

When did you decide to start collecting

other people's experiences and stories

and documenting them?

[Tsugio] [dubbing]I started collecting

witness testimonials around age 31.

More and more people just kept coming to me

with their sightings and stories,

like the ones I had.

[Jessica] Kinoshita claims he's collected

eyewitness testimony from more than 300

separate UFO sightings over the years.

Many of them center around

this mysterious mountain, Senganmori.

[Jessica] So, why do you think...

Senganmori is in the center of all this activity?

What's attracting the UFOs to that particular area?

[Tsugio] [foreign dialogue]

[Tsugio] [dubbing] I think it's because

of the geography of the mountain.

It's not like any other mountain around here.

It's almost a perfect pyramid,

and I think that shape might act as

some kind of beacon for UFOs.

We also installed a powerful spotlight

on the top of the mountain,

and that might act as an even greater beacon,

because there have been a lot of UFO sightings there since.

If you go to the top of the mountain tonight,

your chances of seeing a UFO are very high.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] [foreign dialogue]

[Phil] After that bold prediction from Kinoshita,

we head out to investigate Mount Senganmori itself.

Like our Fukushima Power Plant investigation,

we devise a plan to split up.

Jess and the crew will climb up to the observation station

at the top of the mountain,

while I secure my own view from the air.

[Phil] -Capt. Jim? [Capt. Jim] -Hi.

[suspense music]

[helicopter engine sound]

[Phil] Alright.

Mount Senganmori, here we come.

[music ceases]

[suspense music]

[Phil] How long is flight time to Mount Senganmori?

[Capt. Jim] 20 minutes.

[Phil] 20 minutes.

So if we have an hour 20 of fuel...

[Phil] 20 there and 20 back, that gives us maximum what...

[Phil] -30 minutes? [Capt. Jim] -Yes that's right.

[Phil] Okay.

Let's see what we find.

So I'm hoping that by this time,

Jess has hiked her way up to the top

of Mount Sengamori.

[Jessica] [grunts] [breathes heavily]

[suspense music]

We've got a shrine over here.

[laughs] Look at this!

[Jessica] Oh my God, look at this view!

Ha...

[music rises]

[helicopter sound]

[Phil] She'll set up the Dap Cam there,

get her eyes on the sky...

I'm sure we'll show up on the Dap Cam

but perhaps something else will too.

We don't really know but for some reason

a lot of people are seeing unidentified things

flying around in this area.

[helicopter sound]

[Phil] So I brought with me two pieces of equipment

when we get to Mount Sengamori.

First one is this.

This is a full spectrum camera,

meaning it films in the infrared.

Now people talk about this black silica

of Mount Senganmori and say that it emits infrared light

in a way that perhaps could bring in UFOs.

It sounds a little far-fetched to me but hey,

let's measure how much light's coming off there,

maybe they're onto something

as far as Mount Sengamori being unusual.

The second piece of equipment is this.

I've got my camera with a long lens on.

So if we happen to see something up in the sky,

we can get up close and personal with it,

hopefully.

[helicopter sound]

[Jessica] [breathes heavily]

[Jessica] The Dap camera is one of the most sophisticated

pieces of tech that we have.

It stands for data acquisition project,

and it uses a pan-tilt zoom camera

with optical software to enable

moving target detection and tracking.

If there's anything in the skies

flying over this mountain,

this camera will zero in on it,

and recognize all airborne objects in its database.

Like an airplane or a helicopter.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] Alright, Dap's up. We are running.

Got a clear view of the sky. Cameras...

North, south, east, west, they're set.

And just in time, because I'm pretty sure

I can hear a helicopter on the horizon,

which means Phil's on his way and not too far off,

so, we did this just in time.

[helicopter sound]

[Phil] -Oh my God. [Capt. Jim] -Okay, okay, okay.

[Phil] [laughs] [Capt. Jim] -Okay.

[Phil] Whoooo... Very windy.

[Capt. Jim] Very windy.

[Phil] -Oh my goodness. [Capt. Jim] -Yeah.

[Phil] My stomach just went up to about here. [laughs]

[Capt. Jim] [laughs]

[tense music]

[Phil] Small pyramid, small pyramid straight ahead.

[Capt. Jim] Yes.

[Phil] Okay, we're getting close.

So right now we have Mount Sengamori dead ahead.

Walkie check, walkie check.

[Jessica] Copy. I see you!

What is the shape of the mountain look like?

Does it look like a pyramid?

[Phil] Honestly, yes. It really does.

You can almost see the different...

sides of the pyramid.

But from up here, it looks a lot smaller

when you compare to all the volcanoes around here.

So, it's kind of unusual

why this place would be so special but hey,

let's dig in and see if we can find out.

[Jessica] Okay. I'm... I'm watching the Dap.

You just let me know

if you see anything weird on your end.

[helicopter sound]

[Phil] All right,

we've got the full spectrum camera ready.

Let's start recording.

[suspense music]

[helicopter sound]

[music rises]

[Phil] All right, we're getting it.

Getting good stuff here.

[helicopter sound]

[suspense music]

[helicopter sound]

[dramatic sound effect]

[Jessica] Phil, you copy?

I've got something, the Dap's got something.

[Phil] You got something? What direction?

[Jessica] It's traveling east to west.

So heading inland.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] It just disappeared on my end.

Do you see it?

[Phil] I can't tell if it's just something

out of the corner of my eye.

I've got a big sun flare right in my eyes

so it's kind of hard to see.

[bleep]! Um... Wait.

[music rises]

[Phil] Hang on, I think I..

What the...

What is that?

Give me a second, I think I got something.

[Jessica] It should be right by you!

[Phil] Oh my God.

It's a pretty far, faint, white dot.

Moving across the sky.

[spooky music]

[Phil] What the hell?

There's two jets coming in right now.

Are you seeing that?

So we have two jets. Oh my God...

I think we see it.

It's a white dot slowly moving across the sky.

Are you seeing those two jets coming across right now too?

[Jessica] I caught something on the Dap.

It was heading towards the west.

I don't see it with my eyes, but I mean,

we've got it, I'm recording.

[Phil] What the [bleep] is happening up here?

[music rises]

[suspense music]

[Phil] Jess, I think I lost it.

I have no idea what we just saw up here.

[Jessica] I'm losing you, I'm sorry. I can't copy.

[Phil] I think we're too far.

How are we doing on flight time?

[Capt. Jim] No left there.

[Capt. Jim] That's the limit for sure.

[Phil] We... we gotta go?

[Capt. Jim] We're gonna go back.

[Jessica] [over radio]Phil, you copy?

[Phil] Jess, not sure if you copy me

but we're running low on fuel. We've got to head back.

[Jessica] Alright, go ahead and land.

[Phil] We're heading back.

[Jessica] Oh yeah, they're out.

We've got it on the Dap though,

and I swear to God that I heard Phil say

that he got something, so... I think we're good.

[suspense music]

[Phil] It just looked like a white

kind of metallicy dot up in the sky.

And at first I thought maybe just a planet reflecting

or a satellite reflecting

but it was moving at a steady pace,

and then these two jets go right across from it.

[Phil] As the UFO phenomenon has grown over the decades,

so too has the international response

trying to engage them.

One of the most famous examples of fighter jets

tracking an unidentified aerial phenomenon

is this video of a 2004 incident

since dubbed the "Tic Tac Event."

Taken aboard a US Navy aircraft

over the Pacific, the pilots encountered

a cylindrical flying object moving at unfathomable speeds.

[pilot] [indistinct] [shouts] [laughs]

[Phil] But the growing wave of aerial engagement

is not exclusive to the US military.

In early 2023, it was reported

that there have been 45 separate incidents

where Russian military has scrambled

fighter jets to follow UFOs.

[Phil] Now, was that just coincidental

that that happened to be the flight path of those jets?

I don't know, but then it also makes me wonder

if the Japanese military just scrambled something

trying to figure out what's up there.

I don't know what's happening right now.

[suspense music]

[Jessica] File saved.

I'm going to leave these things running

just in case we get another hit.

I'm going to have Phil meet me here

and then just go over everything we've got.

Because I want to see what he ended up

catching on his end.

[Jessica] While I wait for Phil to return,

and for the powerful beacon lights to turn on,

I make sure all of our digital eyes

are pointed to the skies and recording.

[Jessica] Alright, so cameras are up.

We covered pretty much

all the way around this platform.

Cars down there.

Lots of dust and bugs

so we've got to be careful not to make

any false positives but so far,

everything's been pretty still.

[Jessica] Okay, so we've got about a minute

before these beacon lights turn on.

They're right behind this sign here.

Oh yeah, I see them!

Nice!

Alright, so that reaches up into space.

Well hopefully we see some UFOs.

Time to check the Dap.

[Jessica] I think we've got something, hold on.

Let me see.

Play this back really quick.

Let's see.

Oh yeah, we do. Watch.

Okay, so that's a plane, right?

So then we saw that.

Look at that. It starts following the plane back.

[spooky music]

[Jessica] So the Dap blocked on to the plane movement

and then that second light, whatever that is,

started following the plane. We've got another hit!

That is a lot of activity for this area.

[Jessica] I mean, that combined with

what I saw earlier and hopefully Phil got eyes on

and was able to capture on his end,

I mean...

This is a pretty busy mountain for UFOs. [laughs]

[suspense music]

[Phil] Oof.

I see the Bat Signal's been deployed.

-Jess, this thing's amazing! [Jessica] -Pretty cool, huh?

[Phil] Yeah!

[grunts]

[Jessica] Alright, first thing's first.

Did you get it on camera?

[Phil] -Let me show you. [Jessica] -Oh good!

[Phil] So I immediately downloaded the footage

because yes, look, look right here.

Look right here. Look at that!

[Jessica] [bleep] Oh my God!

You totally did!

[Phil] -Right? [Jessica] -Yeah!

[Phil] That was what you saw.

[Jessica] That's... well that's what the Dap saw.

[spooky music]

[Jessica] I could see the helicopter with my eyes.

I could not see whatever it was that that was.

[Phil] It was tiny. I could barely see it.

Let me show you this other clip.

Okay, so here's where it gets kind of insane.

[Jessica] Okay.

[Phil] You see what's on that side of the screen?

[Jessica] Oh, whoa. Those are military jets.

[Phil] There's two of them. It almost looks

like they're flying in formation.

[Jessica] Oh yeah, it does.

[Phil] And then, do you see from this perspective,

it almost looks like they're doing a fly by.

[suspense music]

[Phil] I'm stoked.

[Jessica] No, I'm very impressed.

I'm very happy.

Also after that, we've been getting... check this out.

[Phil] -On the Dap? [Jessica] -On the Dap.

[Phil] Let me see this.

[Jessica] That's the plane

that the Dap grabs on to, right?

[Phil] Got you.

[Jessica] Check that out. Did you see?

[Phil] Whoa!

[Jessica] See that second light,

how it starts to follow it?

[Phil] Um... What?

[Jessica] You can tell that's the plane

because of the way... Look, right because of its lights.

[Phil] You can almost see the... the tail.

[Jessica] I know.

[Phil] It's compelling footage.

Between what I saw up there...

[Jessica] Yeah.

[Phil] And that, they're not flying saucers in the sky

that are coming close to us and hovering,

but they're still really weird.

[Jessica] Super weird.

[Phil] I've never been that confused

by what I saw in the sky.

How many hours do we have left

on the generator for the Dap cam?

[Jessica] Think we've got like six to eight?

[Phil] That's basically 'til the sun comes up.

Let's just leave it running.

[Jessica] Leaving it running. I think we'll get more stuff.

[Phil] Yeah.

[suspense music]

[Josh] Phil and Jess continue to scan the skies

above Mount Senganmori well into the early morning,

and it would prove to be

one of the busiest nights of their lives.

All of the following images

were captured on the Dap camera

in the pre-dawn hours.

Each clip shows one or more unidentified phenomena

flying in the Earth's atmosphere

above or near the mountain.

What's truly bizarre is that some of the objects

that the Dap zeroes in on

appear to exhibit propulsion capabilities

that defy conventional physics.

While others almost seem to engage and possibly mimic

known aircraft flying nearby.

As for the infamous Fukushima UFO video,

after leaving her camera running throughout the night,

Jess was able to recreate that mysterious footage

fairly convincingly, chalking up the alleged

lights in the sky to boats out on the sea.

In the end, it seems to be a case of forced perspective

and can be clearly debunked.

But what remains a mystery

is the rogue illuminated object

that Jess captured flying much closer to her location.

[Phil] Whoa!

[Jessica] See that second light

and how it starts to follow it?

[Phil] Um... What?

[Josh] And we cannot say whether that object

might be somehow connected to the unusual telemetry

observed on the Dap cam.

My team has conducted

countless sky watching expeditions over the years

to answer the age-old-question:

Are we being visited by otherworldly beings?

[Josh] Clearly, more evidence is necessary.

But never before has our technology

provided such a strong indication

that the answer could be an astonishing "yes".

[music ceases]

[Discovery vignette]