Clinton Home

On the northern end of Okinawa Island, on the grounds of a private resort, an eccentric Japanese businessman has constructed an exact replica of Bill Clinton’s childhood home in Hope, Arkansas. The structure was completed in 2000 on the occasion of Clinton’s visit to the islands for the G-8 summit that year.

There is no record that Clinton ever visited the replica while on the island, but Takeharu Shiraishi, the chairman and owner of Kanucha Bay Resorts & Villas, did apparently meet the former president.

Shiraishi spared no expense on the recreation, including importing period-appropriate furniture and appliances from antique stores in the United States. Contradictory reports indicate that Shiraishi wouldn’t reveal the cost of the house, but ABC News pegged it at $730,000 USD.

There is some indication that the house was a popular tourist attraction in its early days, but now seems all but forgotten. There’s a small icon to indicate the house, but the building itself is not named on the official map for the Kanucha Bay Resort. Once apparently a daycare center, the house now appears disused, although the period wallpaper and other details can be spotted through the window.

Update: Permanently closed.