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All Japan Unzen-shi Obama Onsen

Obama Onsen

Japan's hottest hot spring has a memorable name.

Unzen-shi, Japan

Added By
Matthew Taub
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President Obama has become a symbol for a destination that predates him by over 1,000 years.   sambhensley/Used With Permission
President Obama has become a symbol for a destination that predates him by over 1,000 years.   sambhensley/Used With Permission
The steam follows you even when your bath is over.   Opqr
Another view of the dense, scorching steam that persists throughout the area.   NY066
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About

Thousands of onsens (hot springs) sizzle throughout Japan, and the hottest one happens to be named Obama. Though the spring’s connection to the 44th American president is purely coincidental (Obama means “little beach” in Japanese, and the onsen was first recorded in 713), kitschy tributes to the man now dot the seaside destination.

A cartoon welcome sign outside the baths features a shirtless Barack Obama lounging in a hot spring, alongside a cut-out companion you can fill in with your face. Dry off after your steam with a Barack Obama towel sold by local vendors, then make yourself presentable and pose next to a life-sized, suit-clad statue of the president outside the town’s tourism office.

But there’s much more to Obama than a homonymous American president. The Hot Foot 105 bath is so-called for being both 105 meters long and 105 degrees Celsius; it’s the longest and the hottest footbath in the country. The Obama hot spring is so powerful that you feel its presence even outside the baths—by say, watching steam rise at a busy intersection, or watching eggs cook in pots on the ground.

As it turns out, the onsen is not the only Japanese locale bearing the Obama name. The city of Obama sits more than 10 hours northeast of the onsen, and has become known throughout Japan for its reverence of the former president. In 2006, the then-Senator even joked on Japanese television about being from the town.

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Added By

matthewtaub

Published

July 26, 2018

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_Onsen
  • https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-11-24/maphead-ken-jennings-obama-japan-barack-obama
  • https://www.npr.org/2014/08/04/337596600/the-american-president-and-a-little-town-called-obama-japan
  • http://visit-nagasaki.com/special/onsen2016/obama
  • https://www.welcomekyushu.com/event/?mode=detail&id=9999900000538&isSpot=1&isEvent=
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen
  • https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4261093&page=1
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama,_Fukui
Obama Onsen
14-39 Kitamoto cho Ooyama cho
Unzen-shi
Japan
32.730204, 130.208287
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Nearby Places

Memorial Park of Houses Destroyed by Debris Flows

Minamishimabara, Japan

miles away

Konagai's Fruit-Shaped Bus Stops

Isahaya, Japan

miles away

Fukusai-ji Temple

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

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Japan

Asia

Places 786
Stories 110

Nearby Places

Memorial Park of Houses Destroyed by Debris Flows

Minamishimabara, Japan

miles away

Konagai's Fruit-Shaped Bus Stops

Isahaya, Japan

miles away

Fukusai-ji Temple

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

Japan

Asia

Places 786
Stories 110

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