Tamizi Hj Tamby 1 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Message to mods: Should you find this topic is not suitably here,please do move it to the appopriate section. Thanks. This is a suprise. `The Terminal 2'? Japanese man makes airport home By MARIA GALLUCCI, Associated Press Writer Maria Gallucci, Associated Press Writer – Fri Nov 21, 6:15 pm ET MEXICO CITY – Hiroshi Nohara is on a layover at the Mexico City airport. It has lasted almost three months, and he has no plans to leave. For reasons he can't explain, the Japanese man has been in Terminal 1 of the Benito Juarez International Airport since Sept. 2, surviving off donations from fast-food restaurants and passengers and sleeping in a chair. At first, he frightened passengers, and airport authorities asked the Japanese Embassy to investigate why the foul-smelling man refused to leave. Now, he's somewhat of a celebrity, capturing Mexico's collective imagination with nearly daily television news reports on his life at the food court. Tourists stop to pose with him for photographs or get an autograph. The Tokyo native flew into Mexico with a tourist visa and a return ticket home, but he never left the airport. In an interview Thursday alongside the airport McDonald's, he said he had no motive for his extended stay and doesn't know how much longer he'll remain. "I don't understand why I'm here," he said through a visiting interpreter originally hired by a television station. "I don't have a reason." The embassy can't force him to leave, and since Nohara's visa is valid all Mexican officials can do it wait for it to expire in early March. 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. "He's a calm person, a nice man," said Silvia Navarrete del Toro, an airport janitor. "He just sits here and eats all day." Various stalls in the food court give Nohara free snacks and drinks, sometimes even throwing in hats or coffee mugs with store logos to get free publicity during his frequent television appearances. Strangers often buy him pastries or hamburgers; he prefers the latter. He sits with the interpreter, talking and laughing for hours, at a small table covered with cups of cold coffee, packets of ketchup and sandwiches wrapped in foil. Stroking his facial hair, Nohara said the 2004 film "The Terminal," starring Tom Hanks as an Eastern European man stuck in a New York City airport, was not his inspiration. But he acknowledged the similarities. "My life," he joked, "is 'The Terminal 2.'" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Story is similar to that Armenian spending years and years at CDG Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith T 2 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 Except in this case it'd appear to be voluntary rather than forced by bureaucratic impasse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamizi Hj Tamby 1 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 (edited) Story is similar to that Armenian spending years and years at CDG Really,Uncle Pieter? Mind to share that story if you can recall it? I do agree with your opinion,Keith;he even don't have any idea why he's doing it too. Edited November 25, 2008 by Tamizi Hj Tamby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
H Azmal 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 (edited) Hmm, didn't notice him there ... Edited November 25, 2008 by H Azmal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seth K 3 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 A nice guy, but according to his last quote, seems like he's just trying to get attention Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alif A. F. 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 Really,Uncle Pieter? Mind to share that story if you can recall it? I do agree with your opinion,Keith;he even don't have any idea why he's doing it too. oh yeah...the man living in CDG is the famus one...been living in the airport since 1980's if im not mistaken...i thought he was an Iranian national... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Azizul Ramli 2 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 Hmm, didn't notice him there ... I was about to post a reply that H Azmal might stumbled upon this guy when he travelled through MEX recently. But too bad. A nice guy, but according to his last quote, seems like he's just trying to get attention. I agree with you. I used to watch a lot of Japanese miniseries and I can assure that they have a wierd way of expressing their emotions. oh yeah...the man living in CDG is the famus one...been living in the airport since 1980's if im not mistaken...i thought he was an Iranian national... Isn't he the inspiration for the original The Terminal movie played by Tom Hanks? The Japanese guy seems aware of the movie The Terminal. But I think he didn't take the good out of that movie. In The Terminal, Tom Hanks used the airport's washroom to shave and shower, he applied for some part time jobs at the airport and flirted with a gorgeous flight attendant - Catherine Zeta Jones, rather than just sit all day long while eating and smells like a garbage. I guess, he needs a different storyline for his The Terminal 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 Japanese Man Flies To Mexico, Camps At Airport November 29, 2008 A Japanese man who flew into Mexico City's airport as a transit passenger 12 weeks ago is refusing to leave, but his reasons for staying remain a mystery and his government is taking a hands off approach. Hiroshi Nohara, in his 40s and from Tokyo, has remained in the airport transit lounge since September 2. He has a valid visa to Mexico and a return ticket home but refuses to budge. "I know I'm doing something weird," Nohara said. "I don't know how long I'll be here. I have a visa until March, but I might leave sooner than that." Nohara has become a sort of celebrity, with airport staff and other transit passengers plying him with free food and drink, as well as stopping to take his picture and autograph. He has given several media interviews, with some local media speculating that Nohara came to Latin America in search of love, and that he was on his way to Brazil via Mexico City. Mexican officials and the Japanese embassy have failed to persuade Nohara to leave, but they say they are unable to force him out of the country because he is not committing any crime. "Mr. Hiroshi has decided by his own will to remain here at the airport. He spends his time walking around the fast-food area. He eats there and practically sleeps there. His stay is legal for the airport," said airport spokesman Victor Mejia. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo also said there was little they could do for Nohara. "It's up to him whether he moves. We can't force him. Only the Mexican government can decide whether to order him to get out or allow him to stay," the official said. Nohara's situation has echoes of the 2004 film "The Terminal," in which American actor Tom Hanks is a traveler from a fictional East European country who is stuck in New York's JFK airport after his passport is revoked following a coup back home. That film was inspired by the true story of an Iranian-born man who lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years. (Reuters) You were right, all along, Alif, about the Iranian and not an Armenian... ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wilson Kook 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2008 Funny guy. I'd love to see one like him in KLIA. haha. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
