THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP ENCOUNTER REPORT

1974: Obihiro, Hokkaido UFO Photo | Iino Twins Case Archive

Just after noon on November 12, 1974, 11-year-old twins Yoshitsugu and Katsuji Iino were watching the sky from the back window of their family home in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, when a dark, disc-shaped object caught their attention against the bright blue winter sky. One twin kept his eyes fixed on it while the other ran for the family camera, returning in time to snap four color photographs before the object climbed into the clouds and vanished. At least one modern account describes this as the second of two Hokkaido sightings that year, with a less-documented incident reportedly occurring about six months earlier.

Two real witnesses and four surviving photographs give this case a firmer footing than most single-witness reports in this archive — this entry fills in a few blanks the original page left open and notes where its own documentation trail runs thin.

Date: November 12, 1974

Sighting Time: 12:00 PM (noon)

Day/Night: Day

Location: Obihiro City, Hokkaido, Japan (viewed from the back window of the witnesses’ family home)

Urban or Rural: Rural

Hynek Classification: DD (Daylight Disc) — metallic or whitish object seen in the day, correctly applied given the clear midday sighting

Duration: Undocumented precisely; lasted long enough for one twin to retrieve a camera and take four photographs before the object ascended into clouds

No. of Object(s): 1

Description of the Object(s): A dark, disc-shaped object seen moving against a bright blue sky; four color photographs were taken of it before it rose into the clouds and disappeared

Shape of Object(s): Disc-like

Size of Object(s): Undocumented

Color of Object(s): Dark/black, contrasted against a bright blue sky

Distance to Object(s): Undocumented

Number of Witnesses: 2 — twin brothers Yoshitsugu and Katsuji Iino, age 11, both of whom saw the object directly. Filled in from blank; see Researcher’s Notes.

Special Features/Characteristics: One twin kept the object continuously in view while the other retrieved the family camera; four color photographs survive from the sighting, at least one of which is reproduced in independent modern compilations of the case; at least one modern source describes this as the second of two reported 1974 Hokkaido sightings, referencing an earlier, less-documented incident approximately six months prior

Case Status: Unexplained

Source: Undocumented specific original publication; the case is documented in modern compilations, including a dedicated survey of 1970s Hokkaido UFO sightings

Summary/Description: At noon on November 12, 1974, 11-year-old twins Yoshitsugu and Katsuji Iino, watching from their family home’s back window in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, saw a dark, disc-shaped object moving against a bright blue sky. One twin retrieved a camera while the other kept watch, and together they captured four color photographs before the object rose into the clouds and disappeared.

Related Cases: At least one modern source references an earlier, less-documented 1974 Hokkaido sighting approximately six months prior to this one, as well as a separate 1973 Hokkaido case (this archive’s own “Japan 1973” entry, involving witness “Masaki Kudou”). Not separately indexed here beyond that existing entry.

Detailed Report

Just after noon on November 12, 1974, 11-year-old twin brothers Yoshitsugu and Katsuji Iino were watching the sky from the back window of their family home in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, when they noticed a dark, disc-shaped object moving against the bright blue winter sky. One of the twins kept his eyes fixed on the object, tracking it as it moved, while the other ran to retrieve the family camera. He returned in time to photograph it, and together the boys captured four color photographs before the object climbed into the clouds and disappeared from view.

The case is referenced in modern compilations of Japanese UFO history, including a dedicated survey of 1970s Hokkaido sightings, which reproduces at least one of the twins’ photographs. That same survey situates this sighting as the second of two reported Hokkaido incidents in 1974, noting an earlier, less-detailed sighting approximately six months prior, and separately discusses this archive’s own 1973 “Masaki Kudou” case from the island’s south coast as a related but distinct earlier report.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

The Iino Twins’ Photograph — Hokkaido 1974 and a Case With Real Pictures

Field Completions: Several blank fields are directly answered by the source’s own narrative: Day/Night (Day, given the noon sighting time and DD classification), and Number of Witnesses (2 — the twin brothers themselves, both of whom saw the object, with only one operating the camera). This entry fills these in accordingly.
Surviving Photographic Evidence: Unlike many entries in this archive, this case is associated with four actual color photographs taken at the time, at least one of which is referenced and displayed in independent modern compilations. This gives it a stronger evidentiary basis than most single- or few-witness reports without any photographic record.
Part of a Reported Pair of 1974 Sightings: At least one independent modern source describes this November 12 sighting as the second of two Hokkaido incidents that year, referencing an earlier, less-detailed sighting reportedly occurring around six months prior. This entry could not confirm further detail on that earlier incident and does not treat it as part of this specific case.
Source Chain Assessment: The original field left the Source blank; this entry notes the case is documented in modern compilations, including a dedicated survey of 1970s Hokkaido UFO sightings, though the earliest original publication of this specific account was not independently identified in researching this entry.
Case Status Rationale: Filed as Unexplained given the two genuine witnesses (both of whom saw the object directly) and the existence of contemporaneous photographic evidence, though no independent technical analysis of the surviving photographs is documented in the material available to this archive.

Two child witnesses, both watching together, and four surviving photographs make this a comparatively solid entry by this archive’s standards — even without any independent analysis of those photographs to confirm what they actually show. It remains filed as Unexplained, a brief, clean daylight sighting backed by more than memory alone.