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Airport Lover Hiroshi Nohara Headed Home
Japanese Tom Hanks Hiroshi Nohara is headed home, after spending 117 days in Mexico City International Airport and then shacking up with a mysterious woman known only as Oyuki for close to two weeks.
Nohara reappeared at MEX on Sunday, carrying three plastic bags full of clothes and blankets. His flight back to Japan left Monday, with a stop scheduled for San Francisco.
While Nohara never fully explained why he was living in the airport, we like to think that he was part of some Illuminati super-plot or was at least wrapped up in some kind of real-life Bourne scenario. 'Cause really... "The Terminal"? Honestly, it wasn't that good.
Related Stories:
· Man Returns to Japan after Mexico Airport Stay [AP, via Google]
· Japanese Tom Hanks Moving On Up [Jaunted]
· Japanese Tom Hanks Can't Get Enough Of Mexico City [Jaunted]
[Photo: China Daily]
Tags: Living In Airports / Vacation Rentals / Hiroshi Nohara / MEX / → All Tags
Japanese Tom Hanks Moving On Up
Mexico City International Airport's most famous (and only?) resident Hiroshi Nohara has moved out after spending 117 days in Terminal 1. Absconding with a mysterious woman known only as Oyuki, the now-clean shaven tourist is shacked up in an apartment in the Distrito Federal according to the newspaper Reforma. Oyuki says she invited the traveler to her place so he could sleep in a real bed.
Nohara's actually left the airport once before--to tour Azteca Stadium--but this time, he says, he's not going back. His tourist visa is set to expire in March, though how (or if) he plans to leave Mexico then is still unclear.
Though Nohara seems to have found his place in an unusual way, vacation rentals were a big trend in 2008, with families trying to keep lodging costs down and single travelers looking for crash pads that were big enough for Parisian dinner parties. The titan of the short-term rental space is HomeAway.com (and its offshoots), but different countries have their own local sites, Frugal Traveler Matt Gross reports, like Pap.fr, Kamernet.nl, Vivastreet.it. And of course there's always Craigslist, which now has a version for just about everywhere. Including Mexico City.
Related Stories:
· Man Living at Mexico Airport Has New Home [AP, via Google]
· Lessons From the Frugal Grand Tour [NYT]
· Japanese Tom Hanks Can't Get Enough Of Mexico City [Jaunted]
[Photo: China Daily]
Tags: Living in Airports / Airport Heaven / Hiroshi Nohara / MEX / → All Tags
Japanese Tom Hanks Can't Get Enough Of Mexico City
A former Tokyo janitor named Hiroshi Nohara has been living in Mexico City International Airport since September 2. Why? He hasn't said, though he did tell reporters recently, "My life is 'The Terminal 2.'"
Camping out in Terminal 1, which serves both domestic and international destinations, he relies on donations from airport restaurants and transiting passengers to get by, content to sleep in a chair. Despite the freebies, he is not, the Associated Press says, in good shape:
During his stay, Nohara's wiry goatee has grown into a scraggly mass. His red-tinted hair is speckled with dust and dandruff, and his cream-colored jacket and fleece blanket are dingy with overuse. He smells like he hasn't had a shower in months.
With a valid tourist visa that won't expire until March, authorities can't really toss him out of the airport. But he has left on his own at least once: Nohara went to see the Estadio Azteca, one of soccer's most storied venues.
Related Stories:
· "The Terminal 2?" Japanese Man Makes Airport Home [AP, via Google]
· The Japanese Tourist Won't Be Tossed Out [Expreso.com.mx, in Spanish]
[Photo of another long layover at MEX: 00ucci]
