Yesterday, 11/14 (Thu) in Nishinomiya-hama. Unless there’s an event, Nishinomiya-hama is a place with very little foot traffic, but…
At Nishitsuu, we value sharing topics that are of interest to Miya-kko (Nishinomiya locals), covering both small happenings and big events in Nishinomiya. This article was created with the intention of archiving, from the Nishitsuu perspective, historically significant turnouts and events that major media outlets don’t often cover. It does not contain content promoting any specific candidate’s platform. We’ll continue to share the story of what’s happening in Nishinomiya right now, keeping things relaxed and fun. (If you want to learn about each candidate’s policies and positions, we recommend watching live-streamed speeches rather than reading Nishitsuu~)
Around 3 PM. The Co-op parking lot was completely full! The store manager said, “The only time it ever gets full is during the fireworks festival~” and was totally like, “Whoa whoa whoa!”
In front of Co-op. This road, which I personally consider the main street. The people lined up so neatly in a long row are all waiting for Motohiko Saito.
Saito-san hadn’t arrived yet, so his supporters were taking turns giving greetings.
I think there were about 5 of them? They were all classmates of Saito-san from middle school and high school.
You could really feel the enthusiasm of their support. It felt somehow refreshing, and the last person was really fun to listen to~
Nishinomiya City Council member Yoshito Kawamura was about to start a warm-up act since Saito-san hadn’t arrived yet, but almost like a comedic punchline, the campaign car showed up right away~
People were also watching from the staircase area next to Co-op.
During his speech, Saito-san said, “(My) eyes are getting bloodshot, and everyone’s been asking me ‘Are you okay?’… but I’m fine,” which was kind of funny. They did look a bit bloodshot, actually
Oh! So the uguisu-jo (campaign announcer) comes out this far too, huh~
The person in the foreground is Fukumaro, who’s famous for livestreaming~
And look at that posture!! That must take incredible stamina~ Looks super tiring
Several people were watching from on top of the apartment buildings too, and they were waving hello.
So many people gathered like this, and according to residents of Nishinomiya-hama, this is apparently the first time in history that so many people have gathered at this spot.
Oh, it’s the usual protestor who always shows up. There were also people covering for them~
There were several people livestreaming like this.
The flyers for handing out were packed into clear storage boxes. I wonder how many they hand out in a day.
The usual handshake time. Today again, Nishinomiya City Council members Kento Mori and Yoshito Kawamura were flanking Saito-san on both sides like bodyguards~
Some people were so moved they were crying~ And if you look closely, they got their masks autographed~
The usual huge crowd when leaving.
Someone wanted to give Saito-san a letter, but he had already left, so they entrusted the letter to Kawamura-san~
Shortly after that…
That super eye-catching yellow car is the NHK Party’s campaign vehicle.
Who would have thought — they were even doing the “bukowa~su” bit here in Nishinomiya-hama~
Look closely. “Party Leader” is handwritten in super tiny letters. Why did they write it that small?? A mystery!
Tachibana-san’s style of speaking while surrounded by people like that is really unique, isn’t it~ You can get incredibly close to him~
This close! Co-op, Tachibana-san, autumn leaves, NHK Party. What a chaotic scene
I wonder if they’re a Sapporo Beer fan~
With the occasional question from the audience, it was quite an unusual style, and everyone was listening intently~
LaLaport Koshien — November 14th
Saito-san was scheduled to arrive at LaLaport at 5:30 PM.
The sidewalk on the LaLaport side of Koshien-suji. Packed solid.
It’s the MBS camera crew that was also at the JR Nishinomiya event~
From the area near Koshien Plus building and Koshien History Museum, people were also waiting for Saito-san to arrive.
The view from there, with the moon out, was really something. An American would probably say “Cool!”
This rope is really long. So there were lots of volunteers holding it.
And then he arrived~~
