The small beach

Most of my posts as of late have consisted of rehashed news stories and viral videos concerning the election and have generally had nothing at all to do with Japan. While I can't say this check-in exactly breaks the mold in terms of disrupting the former of those conditions, it does at least put the focus back on my current home.



Welcome to Obama, Japan, population 32,000 and just about the only place in the world not yet sick of hearing about the upcoming election. While you may have already heard the story of this small town and their fascination with Obama (Barack, that is), what you probably haven't heard is how appropriately the phenomenon speaks to Japanese pride and regional identities.

For a quick anecdote, let me take you with me on a drive I took not long ago down route 192 in Tokushima. Now Tokushima ranked near last in a 2006 survey of the most desirable prefectures in Japan, but you'd never know it from the advertising here. As my friends and I drove from East to West, we first passed a sign for a shop selling "famous" Tokushima ramen. Despite being just one of a multitude of ramen types sold in Japan (fyi: ramen is actually Chinese, but don't point that out), anyone in Tokushima will swear to you that their prefecture's is totally unique and amongst the country's finest. Of course, after filling up on the noodles, we then had the choice of heading north to the "world famous" Naruto whirlpools, or to go west and check out one of "Japan's 100 most scenic waterfalls." How this ranking is significant in a country roughly the size of California is puzzling, but regardless it never seems to be omitted from the various guidebooks and pamphlets that can be picked up along the road.

I say all this because I firmly believe that Japan is a place where regional pride and identity means everything. And if that's true, then the city of Obama has found the mother of all hooks to hang their hat on. Despite the fact Obama the politician has no actual ties to the Obama the place, the city's residents have nevertheless adopted him as their man, stamping everything from chopsticks to t-shirts to sweets with the senator's likeness, and even setting up their own support club. Clearly, the connection is something the people in this fishing village take seriously.


members of the "Obama Girls" dance troupe show their support


a city official proudly displays a letter from the senator himself


Obama residents cheer as they watch campaign coverage at a rally

Obama may mean "small beach" in Japanese, but at least in one town the word denotes something much bigger.