As promised, the following is a brief report on our Visalia delegation's recent visit to Miki Japan, celebrating the 50th anniversary of our sister city relationship.
Miki is located next to Kobe, Japan. Unlike Kobe, which is a major city, Miki has a population of about 81,000 people. There is much farmland surrounding it, and the population is not densely packed in, giving it the impression of a country town. Miki is well known in Japan for carpentry and hardware production, and for a special brand of rice which is used to make sake. The name "Miki" means "three trees." They are also known for their beautiful giant chrysanthemum flowers on individual stalks. While we were there, the weather was pleasant and in the 60's.
On Thursday evening, November 3, our delegation of eleven arrived and were greeted at Osaka International Airport, then bussed to Miki where we met our host families. Other than a couple of nights' stay in hotels, we spent the nights with our host families and were fed by them. We ate rice with every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. In fact, another name for breakfast in Japanese is "asa gohan" which translates as "morning rice." Other than rice, their foods were colorful, varied and delicious.
Friday morning, we were met at city hall by their city staff and employees, who lined up and applauded as we walked in. We felt like celebrities. We had a Welcome Ceremony where their Mayor Yabumoto and I as vice-mayor of Visalia addressed the group. Miki has a mayor, two deputy mayors, and sixteen city council members. All of their jobs are full time and they are paid commensurately.
At the Welcome Ceremony, we presented a large clock as a gift to the city of Miki from our city, and we also presented their council members with gift bags including locally grown pistachios, honey and olive oil along with brochures about Visalia. That afternoon we toured a local junior high where the students demonstrated judo, and showed various types of artwork and activities they were involved with. We then toured the Okada Manufacturing plant, whose specialty is the manufacture of all types of saw blades. They are completely mechanized and make over 6 million blades per year.
Saturday was a free day. Most of us went with our host families to tour nearby Himeji Castle, a 400 year old castle. This magnificent seven-story edifice is also known as the White Castle, and compares favorably with any of the castles of Europe. This castle was spared in World War II, and is surrounded by high rock walls and an elaborate moat.
Sunday was their hardware festival (Kanamono Matsuri). Their festival is on par with the World Ag Expo locally. We were given "hopi" coats (happy coats) to wear and our entire delegation was on stage. After a band played several numbers, their mayor and I addressed the attendees, then the confetti and streamers flew. We had the afternoon to visit the many booths. That evening we had a gala golden anniversary party. Our delegation was dressed in kimonos which were provided. After a drum show and more speeches, we visited and ate various Japanese appetizers and delicacies.
Monday morning our group was put on the Shinkansen (bullet train), then toured the peace memorial at Hiroshima as well as the temples and shrines on Miyajima Island. On Wednesday morning farewell speeches were given, goodbyes were said, and the flight home.
In summary, the wonderful people of Miki, Japan treated us like royalty. Really, the main cost to our delegation was the flight over and back, which the delegation members paid for on their own.
The city of Visalia is currently constructing Miki city park on Mineral King Avenue near city hall. The city has had grant money for a number of years to build this park but it was put on hold during the recent recession. We look forward to a visit by a delegation from Miki in April 2017 when we will dedicate our new sister city park. That will be a fitting start to the next 50 years of our sister city relationship.
If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city. For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.
