Case file · Cryptid
Hibagon of Mount Hiba
From July 1970 people around Saijō in northern Hiroshima reported an ape-like creature about 1.5 m tall with a bristly face; it was named Hibagon after Mount Hiba.
1970 CE · 35.03, 133.05 · status: claim
The account
Sightings peaked in 1974; the town set up a 'Hibagon desk' and even offered compensation to witnesses bothered by the press. Similar creatures were reported at Yamano (Yamagon, 1980). The town declared the fever over in 1975, though reports continued into the 1980s.
The sceptical view
Proposed explanations include escaped or released monkeys, a large Japanese macaque, bears, and hoaxes amplified by national media.