This summer, Sausalito and Sakaide, Japan, celebrated our 35th anniversary as sister cities with a student exchange program and a visit from Sakaide Mayor Tetsuji Arifuku.
Our sister city relationship began in 1988, the same year that Sakaide opened the Seto Ōhashi Bridge, a series of eleven bridges spanning the Seto Inland Sea. During the planning stages for the Seto Ōhashi, engineers from Japan spent time in Sausalito studying the Golden Gate Bridge.
Nine high school students from Sakaide, accompanied by two chaperones, participated in the exchange program this year. The mission of the program was to promote and expand cross-cultural relationships between our two cities and between the United States and Japan.
The theme of this year’s exchange program was “Green Future,” with activities related to sustainability, sea level rise, green energy, and Sausalito’s maritime industries.
Special 35th anniversary events include:
A ceremonial meeting of the City Council with Mayor Arifuku and the student delegates at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, July 28. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers and was open to the public.
An official welcome dinner at 6:00 p.m. on July 29 at the Spinnaker Restaurant. The dinner featured Mayor Arifuku, the Japanese Consul General in San Francisco, student delegates, host families, and local dignitaries.
A visit to the Autodesk Gallery, which the students greatly enjoyed.
A farewell dinner for the student delegates at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 5 at the Sausalito Yacht Club. This casual evening included skits by the delegates as a way to celebrate a successful exchange.
Sausalito and Sakaide alternate years that they send or receive a student delegation. Over 35 years, Sausalito and Sakaide have exchanged more than 550 American and Japanese students. Due to the pandemic, this will be the first visit by a Sakaide delegation since 2018.
Michael Lewis Photographer
Michael Lewis Photographer
Michael Lewis Photographer
