A Japanese Town so Happy Obama Won

JR (Japan Rail) Pass
JR West Obama Line: including Obama Station (小浜駅), Higashi-Obama Station (東小浜駅), Kato Station (加斗駅), Seihama Station (勢浜駅), and Shin-Hirano Station (新平野駅)


Back when Barack Obama was sworn in for his first term, a small Japanese town was overjoyed. Women danced the hula at the local temple, and...

Obama means "little beach" in Japanese.

Obama (小浜市 Obama-shi) is a city located in Fukui Prefecture (福井県 Fukui-ken), Japan. It faces Wakasa Bay due north of Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi, "Capital City") , and is about four to five hours by train from Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō, "Eastern Capital" officially Tokyo Metropolis or 東京都, Tōkyō-to). As of October 1, 2005, the city had an estimated population of 32,185 and a population density of 138.22 persons per square kilometer. The total area is 232.85 km². The city is a popular tourist attraction with major attractions such as Obama Castle.

Obama gained publicity in the United States and elsewhere since 2008, as it shares its name with the then-senator Barack Obama, who was running for President of the United States.



Note: The Japanese 駅, means station, pronounced as eki (a Japanese specific character, absent in Chinese character or called Kanji)