No.135 Visit to Foster City

This time, we organized a Sister City visit tour hosted by the Inagi City Sister City Friendship Association and recruited participants to visit Foster City.

In October last year, a delegation of 33 people from Foster City visited the "I Town Inagi Citizen Festival" over two days, and this time it is a citizen exchange in consideration of that courtesy. Although it was a tight schedule of 3 nights and 5 days from February 4, a delegation of 11 people traveled to the United States.

On the first day, after arriving at San Francisco Airport, we transferred to a bus and arrived in Foster City in about 20 minutes. We checked into the hotel and then headed to our first visit, Beach Park Elementary School, where many citizens had already gathered to give us a warm welcome. This elementary school is the newest in the city, having opened in 2020. Upon our arrival, the junior high school brass band performed a welcoming concert for us, and we were given headphones for simultaneous interpretation, while the principal personally guided us around the school. Not only are the educational programs and teaching methods different from those in Japan, but the school facilities are also quite different. To our surprise, there was a classroom dedicated to LEGO blocks. This time, elementary school students from four schools in the city explained their school life, and we received many gifts, including drawings made by the children.

Next, we headed to the lagoon in the city center and took a boat to view the residential areas of the city. This area is known to be a place where successful individuals from Silicon Valley have relocated, and the housing prices have risen dramatically compared to when I visited seven years ago.

On the first night, a welcome party was held for us. At my table were Mayor John Flumin, the new president of the Foster City Sister City Association, David Saito and his wife, as well as Consul General Noguchi and his wife from San Francisco, making for a pleasant dinner gathering. They were quite mindful of the content from when we welcomed the people of Foster City last October, and the overall structure was similar. This shows that they highly appreciate our hospitality, which made me very happy. I gave a thank-you speech in English.

At this welcome party, I was also able to meet Evan Adams, who manages the Facebook group "Foster City Together." Additionally, I had the opportunity to meet Sanjay Gehani, the mayor at the time we established our Sister City partnership online two years ago, and I was able to shake hands with him directly instead of through a monitor.

On the second day, an exchange meeting with Foster City residents was held at the recreation center of Leo J. Ryan Park, which faces the lagoon (a facility similar to Inagi City Cultural Center). First, children aged 14 to 17 presented an introduction to Foster City and shared their experiences at their respective schools. These children are pen pals who have been corresponding via email with children from Inagi. Under the moderation of David Saito, they engaged in a Q&A session discussing their dreams and what they hope to achieve through their exchange with Inagi City. It was impressive to see that all the children had solid ideas and spoke lively, particularly showing interest in Japanese culture and traditions.

Then, we exchanged gifts with each other. I received a custom street sign from Mayor of Foster City, which has "Inagi City" printed on the front and, surprisingly, "Takahashi BLVD" on the back, which was very moving. The gift from Inagi City was a hanging scroll themed on Japanese mythology that I presented to Mayor of Foster City. This piece was created by artist Kuniko Onishi, who is also a member of the Sister City Friendship Association, and it depicts a scene from the Kagura of Anazawa Shrine. I chose a version that features Amaterasu from several candidates. I explained it in English while handing it over, and it seemed to spark a lot of interest. Furthermore, I presented figures of Inagi Nashinosuke and an original photo book expressing the beautiful four seasons of Inagi to Mayor of Foster City, David Saito, and former president of the Sister City Association, Steve Okamoto, and they were delighted. Additionally, the Sister City Friendship Association gifted the citizens of Foster City with Gundam tote bags and sweets from Inagi.

Next, it was lunchtime, and the sliced steak sandwiches and salads were not made by the cook, but were handmade for us by the members of the Foster City Rotary Club, which was also surprising.

In the second half of the exchange meeting, the music teacher who guided the junior high school students who hosted the chorus last night brought an orchestra to perform today. While there are brass band clubs in Japanese Elementary and Junior High Schools, I think there are not many that engage in orchestra activities.

I stayed in Foster City for just two days, but I received truly heartfelt hospitality, and in the end, everyone saw me off on the bus.

In October last year, citizens of Foster City visited Inagi City, and this time, citizens of Inagi City are visiting Foster City, marking the beginning of mutual citizen exchanges. Additionally, in July of this year, there are plans for the youth soccer team from Foster City to visit Inagi City, and discussions have begun with Mr. David Saito. Moving forward, we hope this will lead to the original goal of mutual exchanges between the children of both cities.