Obama City, Japan explained

Nov 01, 2017 | News On Japan

Nov 01, 2017 (ONLY in JAPAN) - This place is for real! A city in Japan called Obama. They must have named it after the former president, right?

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.

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