17 Must Know Facts about Obama…..Japan
There is more than one Obama. There’s the one who is going to be president of the USA or already is the president (depending on when you read this.)
Then there is the Obama ….in Japan. Nope, neither was named after the other.
The topic of this post – Obama 小浜市.
20 must-know facts.
1. Obama is in Fukui, Japan.
2. Obama is due north of Kyoto and Nara, Japan and about 4-5 hours from Tokyo by train. A couple of hours at the most from Osaka.
Obama, Fukui Japan
3. The train line that serves /Obama city is called uncreatively the Obama Line. Why not the Barack Line?
4. The population of Obama City is about 32,000, about the number that is likely to show up at Barack’s inauguration…or considerably less.
5. The meaning of 小浜市 is ‘little beach.’
6. Obama 小浜市 is on the beach facing Wakasa Bay.
7. Fishing used to be the main industry of the town…but now, it’s tourism – a destination for Obama pilgrims?
8. Tourism is so popular that the city has a hard time keeping up with Barack admirers.
8. Obama City is the location of Fukui Prefectural (state) University which is noted for its research center for Marine Bioresources.
9. Obama city has a festival that dates back 1,200 years - Omizu-okuri (Water Carrying).
Yeah, it looks like that to me, too. Check these pix.
10. President Obama’s first contact with the city was in 2006 when he was in Narita Airport and the immigration official happened to be from Obama.
11. Obama mayor is planning a statue of Barack Obama…aka Rocky Balboa? November 4th will be an annual holiday in the city in memory of Obama’s presidential win.
12. Obama residents danced when their namesake won the election.
13. Obama city lost some of her citizens by abduction to North Korean in July, 1978.
14. Obama residents are now selling “everything from T-shirts, fish burgers and cakes to chopsticks with Obama’s name.”
Obama Manju
“Can I have an Obama burger please?”
15. Obama city is planning to send a delegation to the White House to meet the new president.
16. Obama has his own troup of “Obama Girls” hula dancers from Obama, Japan.
Obama Girls
17. Barack has tentative plans to visit the city.
18. Having a city with the same last name as a very popular ingoing president is good for business all around.
You are surely to also be interested in:
Obama Shows Up on Japanese Battledore
…what’s a battledore?
