Group / Company :  ONLY in JAPAN

This place is for real! A city in Japan called Obama. They must have named it after the former president, right?
Well ...
Republicans can sigh a breath of relief as this Obama was here first. Obama City, Japan's history goes back centuries and the coincidence of phonetically having the same name as Barack Obama's last name is what makes the city stand out internationally. Oh, in case you're wondering, in Japanese, "Obama" actually means "Small Beach".

Like any town with such a unique coincidence, the city embraced it and made a strong bond with the Senator then President.
It started when Senator Obama landed in Japan and the immigration officer told him he was from Obama!

But take a step back from the last 10 years and you'll find another kind of city.

Obama City is located in Fukui Prefecture, about 70km from Kyoto on the Sea of Japan. It was the Gateway to Japan for centuries before the Edo period because it was the closest link to Kyoto from the Sea. The route used was called MACKEREL ROAD because SABA (Mackerel) was the most traded fish, delivered to Kyoto endlessly along with loads of other goods to and from the imperial city.

▶︎ WHERE IS OBAMA?
https://goo.gl/maps/F2rYmxC11p42

▶︎ WHAT CAN YOU DO IN OBAMA?
Well, eat!
Obama Fish Market is friendly and has an amazing teishoku restaurant that opens early.
It's also famous for lacquerware (luxury chopsticks, boxes) and it's hundreds of temples and shrines in the mountains.
There are also boat tours cruising along the picturesque coast.
If you want to visit the President Barack Obama Library / Museum of sort, head to the lobby of the Hotel Sekumiya between JR Obama Station and the sea.

Political note: The Trump Obama debate is not something I cover in this episode nor Democrats vs Republicans. I have no personal opinion in this episode and actually tease the situation :) If there were a Trump city, I'd cover that too but phonetically Obama O-BA-MA works well in Japanese and is also a last name in Japan.
Japan is looking forward to President Donald Trump's visit in November just like they would any strong ally and he'll have a warm welcome just like former President Obama did when he visited. I do recommend President Trump visit Obama City. The hotel I stayed in is no Trump Tower but it was good enough for the US Ambassador John Roos.

URL:
▷ Hotel Sekumiya http://www.sekumiya.jp/en/
▷ John on Instagram: http://instagram.com/onlyinjapantv

Music Credits:
▶︎ Local Forecast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300010
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

▶︎ Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

▷ SUBTITLES: If you'd like to help out and submit a subtitle in your language, I'd really appreciate it so we can reach more people! https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_vide THANK YOU! You'll be listed as a collaborator for this video too :) -john

This show has been created and produced by John Daub ジョン・ドーブ. He's been living and working in Japan for over 19 years and regularly reports on TV for Japan's International Channel.