The Tomakomai Sipper w/ Zelia Edgar

Summary

In July 1973, a young night watchman at a lumber yard near Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan, watched a glowing orb lower a transparent tube into the bay and appear to suck up seawater. The object then flew toward him, revealing small shadowy humanoid figures behind a ring of windows, while he felt paralyzed and his car radio filled with strange noise. Host Zelia Edgar connects the case to other water-taking UFO encounters, the symbolism of water and the unconscious mind, and the tiny underground people of Ainu folklore.

Key takeaways

• 1The witness, known by the pseudonym Masaki Kodu, was a 20-year-old university student working a summer job as a night watchman near Tomakomai, Hokkaido, in July 1973.
• 2He reported an orange light that grew to baseball size, rested on a cement factory while beaming green rays northward, then extended a glass-like 'straw' into the bay with a descending cicada-like sound.
• 3The object had a row of windows showing small, twisted humanoid shadows. Three or four similar lights then merged into a dark craft that looked like three gasoline drums stuck together, which flew off to the north.
• 4Investigator Junichi Takanashi wrote up the case in Flying Saucer Review and linked it to other reports of UFOs gathering water with a hose.
• 5The host compares it to the Simonton pancake encounter, the Mince Pie Martians, the Honeycutt gnome encounter in Loveland, Ohio, the Sandown Clown, and the disembodied hands of the Loire.
• 6She ties the small figures to the Koropokkur (spelled 'Karpokor' in the episode) of Ainu folklore, said to mean 'underground people,' and draws parallels to the underworld fairies of the British Isles.

Glossary terms

Source

Transcript excerpt

You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18+. The young man worked as a night watchman. After he had completed his rounds for the evening, he entered his car and turned on the radio, when, all at once, he saw a light streak across the open night sky. He thought that maybe it was a shooting star, but then, the light came back. Welcome to Just Another Tinfoil Hat, with your host, Zilia Edgar. Join Zilia as she walks us through some of the most bizarre UFO cases and incidents of high strangeness. Today, we will be discussing the fascinating case of the Tomokamai Bay Sipper. This case occurred in July 1973 in the port city of Tomokamai in a burry prefecture on the southern coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Today, Tomokamai is home to over 150,000 people and is known for its scenic natural beauty. Back in 1973, a 20-year-old man known pseudonymously as Masaki Kodu worked as a night watchman at a lumber yard near Tomokamai. Masaki was actually living in the Kanto region and attending university at the time, but had returned to his hometown in Hokkaido for the summer break and had taken this job as a night watchman for a lumber yard. ...

Excerpt from Somewhere in the Skies, Aug 21, 2026. Rights remain with the original creators. Hear the full episode at the source.