- Oona McGeeSep 5, 2018
The mayor of Hokuei is ready to meet Conan’s demands, but he has a few surprises up his sleeve for the talk show host as well.
American talk show host Conan O’Brien landed in Japan earlier this week, and he wasted no time in hanging with the cool kids in Harajuku and dining on sumptuous traditional Japanese cuisine with his comedy pal and associate producer Jordan Schlansky.
While he was having fun in Tokyo, though, there was another location not far from his mind: Conan Town, located in Hokuei in rural Tottori Prefecture. After all, Conan Town was the entire purpose for his visit, as he was coming to collect three trillion yen from its mayor, Mayor Maysumoto, as part of his lighthearted claim to the name Detective Conan and Conan Town.
However, Typhoon Jebi, the strongest to hit Japan in 25 years, was barrelling towards Conan Town when the talk show host arrived in Tokyo, and he made sure to let everyone know he was thinking of them as they battened down the hatches against the storm.
Thankfully, Conan Town wasn’t directly under the path of the typhoon, and now that the storm has passed, Conan’s visit is set to go ahead as planned. While the talk show host has been busy exploring the nation’s capital, Hokuei has been quietly preparing for his visit, with a number of interesting activities planned for him and the people of Conan Town.
According to their official Twitter account, Hokuei has been in touch with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty, who offered to come and “negotiate a peaceful resolution” to the demands of Conan and Mayor Matsumoto.
Mayor Matsumoto, @conanobrien : This is US Amb to Japan Bill Hagerty. I offer my services to negotiate a peaceful resolution to your respective demands. We must ensure continued peace and tranquility between the people of Conan Town and Conan. 🙋♂️🇺🇸🇯🇵 @TeamCoco #ConanTown https://t.co/8CK2VQpYJB
— ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) August 31, 2018
With Conan demanding to have a laundromat named after him, a key to the city and residents’ homes, and his iconic hairdo on a Detective Conan statue in Conan Town, it might be a good idea to have the Ambassador on hand to help “ensure continued peace and tranquility between the people of Conan Town and Conan.”
In return, Mayor Matsumoto demanded to have his face on Mount Rushmore, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and 15,000 American hamburgers (one for every resident of Conan Town). Conan responded by saying he would parachute a steer into Conan Town so they can all have “perfect American hamburgers”.
▼ Hokuei then got in touch with the ambassador to request clearance for the steer to be parachuted into Japan.
Dear US Amb Hagerty: We appreciate your offer. Please come help us negotiate a peaceful resolution. Also, we could use your assistance receiving ATC clearance to parachute one goggled steer into Japan. How do you like your hamburger, medium rare or well-done? #Hokuei @TeamCoco https://t.co/9LKXjaFINN
— 北栄町 (Hokuei Town) (@koho_hokuei) September 2, 2018
This tweet, posted today, suggests that Ambassador Hagerty may in fact be visiting Conan Town tomorrow to assist with burger diplomacy.
Dear US Amb Hagerty: Thank you for introducing to the world one of Hokuei's specialty products. How about enjoying some hamburgers together and eating to the future of the USA and Japan? Let's bridge our counties together through burgers. https://t.co/03za5HYuKg
— 北栄町 (Hokuei Town) (@koho_hokuei) September 4, 2018
Not long after the above tweet was posted, Hokuei sent out another tweet, this time revealing Conan’s schedule for his visit to Conan Town tomorrow, beginning with his arrival at Tottori Airport at 10:55 a.m.
Conan O'Brien is coming to Hokuei on Thurs., Sep. 6:
— 北栄町 (Hokuei Town) (@koho_hokuei) September 5, 2018
★10:55AM: Arrival to Tottori Airport (All Welcome!)
★Afternoon: Filming on location in Hokuei.
★1:30PM: BBQ at Yura Conan Station.
(1,000 hamburgers available, first-come-first-serve)
PARKING: Town Office, JA ...
While it appears that Mayor Matsumoto’s demands for 15,000 burgers has now beeen reduced to 1,000 burgers, served on a first-come-first-served basis, it looks like there’s still a lot to look forward to when Conan comes to Conan Town tomorrow. And to let everyone know they’re ready for the big day, Hokuei sent out this tweet, showing that they’re ready to meet Conan’s demands to have his face put up on their laundromat…well, maybe.
We're ready for you, but are you ready for us?
— 北栄町 (Hokuei Town) (@koho_hokuei) September 5, 2018
こちらは準備万端だよ。コナン・オブライエンさん、そっちの準備はOK？ pic.twitter.com/z25QxViMgP
As another teaser, Hokuei retweeted this tweet sent out by X-Japan legend Yoshiki on his official account.
Marc! Thanx for the tweet! I'm back in LA. Wow,I found this,#名探偵コナン vs #ConanOBrien.
— Yoshiki (@YoshikiOfficial) September 4, 2018
PEACE!! #MemoryMonday https://t.co/nrocGygJOf
RT@Benioff I’m really hoping that @ConanOBrien gets to meet the one and only @YoshikiOfficial on his trip to #ConanJapan.Match made in heaven pic.twitter.com/P7nJLBxRjQ
While Yoshiki appears to be overseas at the moment, we don’t want to rule out the possibility that he might make an appearance at Conan Town tomorrow. Whatever happens, we’ve got our eyes set on the sleepy seaside town and we’ll be bringing you all the updates as soon as they happen!
Source: Twitter/@koho_hokuei
Featured image: Twitter/@koho_hokuei
