A Spaceship Made of Stone

In Honshu, Japan, stands one of the country's oldest and holiest Shinto shrines--the Ishi-no-Hoden megalith. Carved from a single rock and weighing roughly 500 tons, it appears to hover over a pool of water, and according to Japanese legend, it was built to depict a sky ship made of stone that the ancient people witnessed descending from the heavens. Ishi-no-Hoden is just one of numerous megalithic structures found throughout Japan commemorating a time when the gods--or, perhaps, extraterrestrial beings--descended to Earth. Centuries old texts describe in vivid diagrams strange craft that have appeared in the sky and on the shores. And satellite images of Mars have revealed keyhole-shaped structures identical to some of Japan's oldest tombs. Could Japan's origins lie beyond Earth, and might a surge of recent UFO sightings provide clues that the island nation provides the key to reconnecting mankind with its extraterrestrial past?