Episode 265: Japan’s Mysterious Rock Ship, “Masuda Iwafune”

On today’s episode of Let’s Get Haunted, we journey to Japan’s ancient Asuka region to investigate the Masuda Iwafune: an enormous 700- to 800-ton granite monument whose purpose has baffled archaeologists for centuries. We explore the leading theories surrounding the so-called “Rock Ship of Masuda,” from unfinished royal tombs and astronomical observatories to water engineering projects and ritual monuments. Then, we venture into stranger territory, examining connections to Japanese legends of heavenly stone boats, the mysterious Utsuro-bune encounter, and ancient astronaut speculation. We even interviewed a tourist, Eddie, who hiked to the megalith and saw it firsthand! More than 1,300 years after it was carved into a hillside overlooking Nara Prefecture, the Masuda Iwafune remains one of Japan’s greatest unsolved archaeological mysteries.