Shohei Ohtani’s hometown honors its superstar son — from city hall to the hair salons｜大谷 翔平｜MLB

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 (500 kilometers) from Tokyo, but it seems 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, played for Hanamaki Higashi High School — a route that led him to the World Series. His Los Angeles Dodgers lead the New York Yankees 3-0, and fans here will be tuned in when LA tries to clinch the title early Wednesday morning local time.
The town honors Ohtani at every turn. And to experience it, start first with hairdresser Hironobu Kanno’s salon called “Seems.”
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, dozen of autographed baseballs, bats, shoes, caps, gloves, bobbleheads, photos of Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka, shirts emblazoned with images of his dog Decopin (Decoy in English), stuffed animals, pillows and 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, 20