Ako, Hyogo Pref. – The city of Ako is understood for 2 issues: salt and samurai, particularly the 47 Ronin celebrated for avenging the dying of their lord within the early 18th century. Moreover samurai memorials in all places, guests will discover posters promoting a museum devoted to a topic that would appear unlikely in southwest Hyogo Prefecture: the Beatles.
Set in an previous home a stone’s throw from the Zen temple devoted to the 47 Ronin, the Beatles Artwork & Tradition Museum is the brainchild of a person who calls himself Japan’s No. 1 Beatles fan. Sonau Okamoto has been passionate in regards to the Fab 4 for greater than 60 years and has constructed a shrine to them with hundreds of memorabilia. There are Beatles recordings, movies, posters, cutouts, pictures, newspaper clippings, magazines, books, mugs, pins, banknotes, cartoons and a large “Yellow Submarine” show.
Certainly one of Okamoto’s most prized artifacts, nevertheless, sits behind a number of layers of glass: his ticket to a Beatles live performance held 60 years in the past this month. It was the night of Saturday, July 2, 1966, at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan enviornment. The worth was ¥2,100. That was a premium seat; the cheaper ones had been ¥1,800 and ¥1,500.
