OSHU CITY, Japan — Shohei Ohtani’s hometown in northern Japan is a rural place, famous for its high-quality Maesawa beef, its history of making traditional ironware, and the intense green hills and mountains that surround it.
Japanese call such places “inaka” — roughly translated as the “countryside.” No glitz, quiet streets and up north — cold winters. It’s only 300 miles from Tokyo, but it seems much further away.
These days, Oshu City is most famous for Ohtani himself, and the intense pride local people show for one of the game’s greatest ever players. He started in the local Little League with the Mizusawa Pirates, then played for Hanamaki Higashi High School — a route that led him to the World Series.
The town honors Ohtani at every turn. And to experience it, start first with hairdresser Hironobu Kanno’s salon called “Seems.”
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The waiting room is a museum dedicated to Ohtani with about 300 artifacts hung, stacked and squeezed into every corner. Even more items are in storage.
There are signed Dodgers and Angels jerseys, dozens of autographed baseballs, bats, shoes, caps, gloves, bobbleheads, photos of Othani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka, shirts emblazoned with images of his dog Decopin (Decoy in English), stuffed animals, pillows, and even life-size cutouts of the superstar.
Kanno said many fans come to town on a kind of “pilgrimage,” and his shop is often part of that.
“My customers and those who come to visit Ohtani’s hometown really enjoy seeing the collection, and I think it is a very effective way for them to feel closer to Ohtani,” he said.
The collecting began innocently when Kanno attended a baseball game on May 23, 2013 — the first professional game in which Ohtani batted and pitched. This was for Japan’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and Kanno came back with a ball signed by Ohtani.
“When I put the ball with Ohtani’s autograph in my salon, the customers were very happy to see it,” Kanno said. “So I started to collect goods little by little.”
The rest is history.
Head across town to the city hall, and there is more Ohtani memorabilia. One corner is loaded with photos of Ohtani, newspaper clips, and pennants reminding that he won the AL MVP in 2023 and 2021. He’s the favorite to be the NL MVP this season.
The centerpiece of the city hall collection is a replica of Ohtani’s right hand. The golden hand allows you to grasp it and watch a video with Ohtani showing how the replica was made.
Ohtani is the only MLB player from Oshu City, although others have come from nearby. Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi also attended Hanamaki Higashi High School, and Rintaro Sasaki — the son of Ohtani’s high school coach — is a phenom who skipped professional baseball in Japan altogether and currently plays at Stanford.
But no one generates buzz back home like Ohtani. Oshu Mayor Jun Kuranari talked about Ohtani as an inspiration. He also brought up Ohtani as a role model.
“He plays with such a pure heart, and his performance is amazing,” the mayor said. “But what I think is also amazing is that he is able to stay humble while playing so well. He is a role model for everyone, and also makes the locals proud.”
