Salinas-Ichikikushikino Sister City Association

08/12/2025

120 people showed up to our annual picnic this past Sunday. Our picnic is an opportunity for all our membership to gather and celebrate another successful student exchange. This year we sent nine exceptional students to Japan and we are all eager to welcome a group of students from Ichikikushikino in 2026.

We had an assortment of food with delicious steaks that we prepared, onigiri and tsukemono that were prepared by our members, and dessert as well! Thank you very much to for providing a delicious assortment of salad, baked potatoes, corn, and hotdogs for the kids. We appreciate your continued support.

We had most of our ambassadors attend the picnic. They were very busy greeting people and serving food. After we ate the students had a chance to talk to our membership about the experiences they had on the student exchange. They spoke about the wonders of Tokyo and beauty of Kyoto but the most common thing they talked about was their love for the people of Ichikikushino. Thank you to our host families in Japan for making such an impact on our students.

Last but not least we had America present our Member of the Year award. This year’s recipient was our Student Exchange Chair, Bonnie! Thank you Bonnie for all your hard work this year with our student exchange.

07/17/2025

Day 15 (Wednesday)

Our last day. We are so blessed that the Japanese ambassadors and chaperone from last year was able to join us for a day of fun. Without a doubt the most important thing to come from our continued program over the years are the friendships we are able to forge. Our current student ambassadors laughed, sung, and chatted with the Japanese ambassadors all day long.

We started off with a long bus ride to the Chiran Peace Museum. The museum showcases the countless young Japanese men that lost their lives during World War 2 and is a reminder to strive towards a more peaceful path. We followed up the somber experience with nagashi somen. The students needed their chopstick skills for lunch if they wanted to catch and eat the noodles. Lastly we went to an incredible sand bath where we were all submerged in very hot sand. It relaxed and soothed our bodies after more than two weeks of constant activities. The trip home was just as energetic as the morning trip. We all expected the students to sleep on the way back but clearly they were having too much fun interacting to slow down.

We ended our day with an epic group picture of all the ambassadors plus our wonderful Japanese chairman, Mr.Gatanaga. Thank you so much Mr.Gatanaga for helping our students experience the warmth and kindness of the Ichikikushikino people. Tomorrow we say goodbye to everyone as we take multiple flights home. I hope the students can spend one final evening with their host families and are able to appreciate the time they’ve had with each other.

07/16/2025

Day 14 (Tuesday)

Today was a short but sweet day. We started off with fan making in the morning to combat the heat. Which was useful at the Junior High School we visited soon after. Our ambassadors split into groups and had a chance to participate in music, PE, and English classes. Then the students ate a typical Japanese school lunch and helped with school cleaning. Japanese schools don’t typically have custodians so the Japanese students are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the cleanliness of their school. I hope our ambassadors appreciate their US high school staff a bit more now.

We made our way back to the chamber of commerce where we had “tea time”. Beverages and candy were provided to the ambassadors while they mingled and chatted with our Japanese Ambassadors from last year. It was fun to see the conversations and laughter that was shared between the two different cultures. Tomorrow is our last full day together. Let’s finish strong!

07/16/2025

Day 13 (Monday)

I hope the students had a restful weekend because today was a full day of activities. We first made our way to the chamber of commerce to write some thank you cards for our host families. We all really appreciate the kindness and care that the families have provided. A short bus ride landed us at (Ichiki Agricultural & Horticultural High School). Our ambassadors listened to a presentation in developing sustainable chicken feed, cleaned out cricket cages, bagged some grapes of the vine, met some pigs and cows, and even got to walk one as well!

Lunch was at the (Satsuma Student Museum) where we learned about the history of the Satsuma students who traveled to England in 1865. One of those students happened to be Kanaye Nagasawa, better known as the “Grape King”, who was a pioneer in the California wine industry.

We ended our day with a quick boat ride around the area. The breeze was a nice contrast to the heat and humidity of Japan. I hope the students are fully enjoying themselves as our trip slowly comes to a close.

07/16/2025

Day 11 + 12 (Saturday + Sunday)

The weekend was a time for students to spend time with their host families. I’m sure they have lots to share and post when we get back from the states but the chaperones did have a chance to visit a handful of families during this time. We checked in with the kids and the families to make sure that everything was going smoothly. We are happy to report that all the students were interacting and being part of their respective families. The chaperones also had the opportunity to meet former mayor Mr.Tabata. Thank you for the hospitality and the wealth of stories and information.

07/15/2025

Day 10

Today the ambassadors had the opportunity to spend a whole day at a Japanese high school. Ichikikushikino High School welcomed us with open arms and a wonderful welcome ceremony. The students had a chance to do calligraphy, participate in an English class, run around in PE, and have a cooking lesson. After school we were able to eat our treats and participate in various stations of Japanese culture. I hope the pictures and videos speak for themselves. Thank you to Moriah, the school ALT for translating and guiding us around the school.

07/10/2025

Day 9

Our first full day in our sister city! The students all adjusted to their host families last night and were well fed this morning. We all met at city hall where we then first met with the Mayor. Although we heard from him last night at the welcome ceremony we were able to sit down and have a conversation with him this morning. The mayor spoke highly of our sister city and his recent trip to Salinas. Students asked about his experience as mayor and what his visit to Salinas was like. We also met the Vice Mayor and the Chairman of the City Council. A few gifts were exchanged which included some beautiful original paintings by. Thank you very much for your wonderful artwork.

We went and toured the local fire station and police station. The officers took time out of their busy schedules to show us a look at their facilities and also showed us a kendo demonstration. Our students had a great time and we thank the city officials for allowing us to visit.

Lunch was at a beautiful little restaurant that served us a variety of Japanese foods. Lunch paired well with the Japanese dessert lesson that the students had. They learned how to make Karukan, a Japanese treat filled with red bean paste that is originated from the area. I hope the ambassadors are able to make the dessert once they go back home. Thank you Aya-sensei for the delicious lesson.

Our last but most heartwarming stop was at a local nursery. The children at the nursery ranged from 0-4 years old and their energy was a match for our students. We spent some time with the children and had a chance to learn some songs and dances. The Japanese children had such a great time interacting with our ambassadors. I’m sure our students will agree how precious it was to spend time with the children.

07/10/2025

Day 8

ICHIKIKUSHIKINO!

After a week of traveling all around Japan we finally made it to our sister city! The energy was palpable this morning as the students showed both nerves and excitement. As we took the long Shinkansen from Hiroshima to our sister city the students practiced their introductions in Japanese. Our dear friend Tomo and his son met us partway and helped us off our stop where we found more members from our sister association waiting for us. We felt a sense of joy and relief as the kind welcome helped us ease into our new home. A short bus ride took us to the Axia hotel where all of the host families were waiting for us with large welcome signs for the students. It was so exciting to finally meet our families and we appreciate the welcome. The students didn’t have much time to breathe though since the welcome ceremony started not too long after we arrived.

The welcome ceremony was full of all the host families and friends of the association. We all enjoyed the excellently prepared food while a number of speeches were made by the mayor of Ichikikushino and the Chairman of the Sister City. The chaperones and one of our student ambassadors also had a chance to say a few words expressing how thankful we are for the kindness of our sister city. We also expressed the importance of our bond as sister city and our resolve to continue our friendship and student exchange program. A special group from the area entertained us with their wonderful music and dances and then the student ambassadors also entertained the crowd with their own dance routine. Towards the end we were able to connect our current ambassadors with the Japanese ambassadors from last year. It was a beautiful experience to have our ambassadors meet. Many of our Japanese ambassadors are hosting our current students this year. The bonds between our students and associations are unbreakable and we hope to continue to grow alongside each other. Thank you to our sister city for a wonderful welcome reception.

07/09/2025

07/09/2025

Day 7

Today was a somber day as the students explored the history and aftermath of atomic bombs in Hiroshima. Our guide was able to explain much about the history of the area and also gave some anecdotes about the Peace Memorial Park from when she was a child. This part of the trip often provokes conversations amongst the student ambassadors on the topic of WW2 and how it shaped Japan. The museum itself was somewhat difficult to go through due to the graphic nature of the what happened in Hiroshima. We hope our students understand the history and strive for a better future.

After our museum visit we got to experience a very famous and traditional Hiroshima dish, Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. Some would call it a Japanese pancake but it’s its own delicacy with plenty of meat, cabbage, egg, and sauce to top it all off. We burned off all that food with a visit to Hiroshima castle and managed to trek to the top and catch an amazing view of the city. Some even cosplayed as samurai! We rounded out the day with another shopping session in preparation for our sister city. The students are eager to meet their host families and are practicing their Japanese whenever they can. Wish us luck as we make our journey to Ichikikushikino tomorrow.

07/08/2025

Day 6

We bid farewell to Kyoto today as we make our way to Hiroshima. Thank you very much to our tour guide for helping us to the station and sending us off. Even though you were only there to help us for a few hours it was comforting to know we were in the right place. We took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima and met Ms.Miki as our new guide. We managed to drop off some luggage at the hotel before going to our next destination. It was perhaps the hottest day of the trip so far but luckily we were in for a nice breeze as we took a ferry over to Miyajima.

Miyajima is well known for its Torii gate by the sea but the ambassadors got to experience the food, shrines, and hospitality of the island. We spent the majority of the day exploring part of the island and stopped along many vendors to refuel and hydrate. A quick train ride back to the hotel and dinner at the station made for a quiet and uneventful evening. The students and chaperones are starting to feel the wear and tear of 20k+ daily steps but we are still in good spirits. Only two more days until Ichikikushikino~