KATU reports that the dock has a sign with Japanese writing that they're trying to interpret. Furthermore, the station tracked a telephone number on the placard to a business based in Tokyo.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department sent an image of the placard to the Japanese consulate in Portland for assessment.
"We don't know where it's from," said Chris Havel with the parks department. "We don't know if it's from Japan or not but we must get rid of those possibilities as we move forward."
Even if the dock did travel thousands of miles to get to the coast of Oregon, it didn't defy physics to get there. The structure is almost 70 feet long, 7 feet tall and 19 feet wide and built of concrete and metal, it was also apparently built to float.
The dock was initially discovered floating offshore but has now made its way to land. Kirk Tite was strolling along the beach on Tuesday with his 2 sons and identified the dock as a "enormous chunk of concrete and metal coated in sea creatures." They also discovered a Japanese image and imprint on tires affixed to the dock, although those could simply suggest that the auto tires themselves were made in Japan.
