Welcome to the Sausalito-Sakaide program.
The Sausalito-Sakaide Sister City program is a student exchange program between the Cities of Sausalito, California and Sakaide, Japan. Its purpose is to promote and expand cross-cultural relationships as outlined in its Mission Statement.
MISSION STATEMENT: To promote world peace and cultural understanding by building long-lasting relationships and implementing rewarding programs with our connected communities.
Program Benefits:
Apart from being a lot of fun, it’s an exciting and fascinating cultural and learning experience. Our Sister City student delegates participate in a program of activities organized by the hosting city and stay with local community families wherein Sakaide students learn about life in America and Marin County students learn about life in Japan. Each year, long-term and loving relationships are established between the students and families. These relationships have strengthened the ties between our two cities.
- It’s an opportunity to participate in a typical Japanese household which is quite different from ours and experience family life in the Japanese culture
- It’s a chance to make friendships that can last a lifetime
- It’s a chance to experience a vast range of diversity in new relationships
- It’s a chance to understand a completely different perspective of life, lifestyle, and values
- It’s an opportunity to share the common goal of promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation
Traditionally, Sausalito delegates experience a wide variety of traditional and regional cultural activities, including but not limited to: matcha and sencha tea ceremony, Judo, sports chanbara, calligraphy, kite-making, basic Japanese language lessons, ikebana, fishing, and feasting on a variety of Japanese cuisine. Delegates also traditionally learn how to make Udon, Kagawa’s most famous noodle dish, from scratch.
When Sakaide delegates visit us in Marin, their activities have included: Jazz by the Bay, dance lessons, sea kayaking, English lessons, museum and gallery visits, craft making, pizza making, visiting national parks like Muir Woods and Alcatraz, meeting with the Japanese Consulate, shopping, and attending San Francisco Giants games.
We have sent many student delegations as part of the cultural exchange program and we have celebrated large commemorative milestones, such as our 20th anniversary in 2008, our 25th anniversary in 2013, our 30th anniversary in 2018, and our 35th anniversary in 2022, which was also our first exchange after a 2 year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic. Our next big milestone celebration will be our 40th anniversary in 2028! We hope you will be there to celebrate with us!
Program and City Histories:
In the 1970’s a group of engineers from Japan visited Sausalito to study the Golden Gate Bridge and in 1978–88 an amazing bridge was built in Japan between the City of Sakaide on Shikoku Island and the City of Kurashiki on Honshu Island, linking several islands to mainland Japan. Officials from Sakaide came to Sausalito in 1988 and placed a plaque at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, acknowledging the similarities between their feat and our beautiful bridge. In a proclamation recognizing the bonds of friendship between the City of Sausalito and the City of Sakaide, the two cities agreed to establish a formal sister city relationship.
The agreement was formalized on February 2, 1988 to “encourage the continued interest of our two communities in cultural exchanges and in the promotion of reciprocal visits by representatives of the two cities in the fields of commerce, government and the arts.” And thus a strong relationship between Sakaide and Sausalito was forged.
We must honor and thank those engineers from Sakaide who initiated our Sister City relationship. It was because of their foresight and enthusiasm that we have enjoyed our rich connection since 1988, the year in which the Great Seto Bridge opened.
Sakaide (坂出) — “Saka” (坂) means “hill/slope”, and “Ide” (出) means “to ascend/emerge”, as in “a hill where one ascends and emerges”. It is believed the “Saka” (坂) in Sakaide is named for the hill, Taozaka, that one had to cross to reach Sakaide from the neighboring town of Utazu. It is a tough climb, but through perseverance, one is rewarded by emerging, “Ide” (出), to a wonderful view of the town below. It is considered a hopeful name reminiscent of stepping out into the world, persevering through struggles, and finding a new perspective.
The kanji for “Ide” (出) is represented on Sakaide’s flag as two seagulls, one flying above the other. We hope you will keep this definition in mind when you find yourself in Sakaide, persevering through cultural and language barriers, to find a wonderful new perspective on life.
Sakaide has a population of 49,400 (as of 2022). It is a port city with a history of shipbuilding and salt making, located in central Kagawa Prefecture at the northeast corner of Shikoku in southwest Japan. The city lies along the Ayagawa River, which runs north–south, and sits southeast of low-lying mountains. On the border between Sakaide and Marugame is Mount Iino, one of Japan’s 100 most famous mountains, locally known as “Sanuki Fuji” for its near-perfect conical shape and resemblance to Mount Fuji. The combination of mountains, river, and inland sea creates an area of notable scenic beauty. Facing the Seto Inland Sea, Sakaide experiences hot, humid summers and mild winters with only light snowfall.
Sakaide is regionally famous for growing the “Miraculous Red Mikan” (Obara Beniwase Mandarin orange), considered the reddest mikan variety in Japan and known for its high sugar content that is perfectly balanced by its tartness. The northern coast of Shikoku is renowned for high-quality citrus fruits such as mikan, yuzu, and sudachi, as well as other fruit such as peaches, persimmons, pears, grapes, and strawberries. The islands off the coast of Sakaide are regionally famous for growing olives, and the largest island among them, Shodoshima, has an olive theme park and a traditional Greek windmill, which served as inspiration for the film “Kiki’s Delivery Service”.
Sakaide and Sausalito share many geographic similarities as water-based communities. For centuries, Shikoku was a peaceful island whose economy relied heavily on salt fields. In 1972, a new salt-production method rendered the fields obsolete, and the land was repurposed for uses including electrical power generation, shipbuilding, and the petroleum industry. As a result, Sakaide developed into a harbor city and an important industrial region. Through land reclamation, many of the area’s islands were joined, making Bannosu Harbor a central hub. The Fuchu Dam, completed in 1967, was built to support anticipated growth while also creating a scenic recreational area.
To further enhance transportation and commerce, a project often described as Japan’s “greatest project of the 20th century” was undertaken: the Great Seto Bridge. Completed at a cost of $9 billion, it consists of 11 bridges and viaducts, with six bridges connecting five small islands and designed to harmonize with the surrounding natural environment. During one of its inauguration ceremonies in 1988, the Great Seto Bridge was designated the “sister” bridge of the Golden Gate Bridge, with a Marin County delegation in attendance. This was the very beginning of our Sister City Relationship.
Sausalito is one of the top 20 destinations for tourists in America today. It is the first city on the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County and has a population of 7,099. Built facing the Bay, its terrain consists of steep, wooded hillsides and shoreline tidal flats.
Its history has included fishing and being a shipbuilding center during World War II and a center for the music industry. It has three houseboat communities, a rich community life, and a strong business and food sector with well-known restaurants. It is a haven for boat building, yachting, and the artistic community. It caters to tourists who visit by car, bus, ferry and cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge.
