HOOD RIVER — After several years of hiatus, the sister city exchange between Hood River and Tsuruta has resumed. Tsuruta sent a group to visit Hood River earlier in 2024, and more recently Mayor Paul Blackburn visited Japan with about 20 local students ranging from middle to high school.
Established in 1977, the sister city connection has a mission to “promote friendship and cultural understanding” between the two communities. Tsuruta is located in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture and is a large-scale producer of apples, much like Hood River.
“[Tsuruta is] an agricultural valley at the foot of a snowcapped volcano, so it feels super appropriate as our sister city. The shared agriculture is a huge reason why the program has been so successful for so long,” the mayor said.
Blackburn has visited Tsuruta three times in his life: Once with his daughter for the 30th anniversary of the program, 10 years later as mayor, and again this year. “By this point, hundreds have participated in this program,” he said.
COVID-19 and travel restrictions forced a pause in the program, but the volunteer committee in Hood River in charge of the exchange was able to save up scholarship funding and send a more diverse group this year thanks to the additional funds.
The cultural interchange between Tsuruta and Hood River offers many benefits, such as fighting xenophobia and breaking people of their normal habits to see the deeper connection of humanity. “Watching the school children interact is such a special thing. Whatever else happens in this world, those children have met each other and seen another way of life,” Blackburn said.
Currently run by Niko Yasui, the exchange program was founded by his grandfather almost 50 years ago. Yasui’s nephew is also involved in the program, totaling four generations of partnership between the Yasui family and Hood River. Yasui organized the trip itinerary and included structured interactions between students and billet families. After flying to Tokyo, the group took the bullet train to the top of the island to Tsuruta where visitors stayed with host families for five nights. Then, they returned to Tokyo and spent one full day in the city.
Yasui said the 47th anniversary trip to Tsuruta was fantastic. Visitors from Hood River were able to experience traditional Japanese life and witness local historic sites like Hirosaki castle, temples at Mt. Iwaki, the local Hood River Mall, and protected natural sites like Lake Juniko. Blackburn recalled visiting city hall, wearing kimonos, practicing judo, and learning calligraphy among other experiences.
“Every time I go to Tsuruta I find something new to experience or meet someone who will become another lifelong friend,” Yasui said. On this trip, Yasui learned more about the Tsuruta school systems and was finally able to see the Neputa festival, which he had missed on previous visits.
“Students and adults were able to bond with peers and experience the differences, but more importantly the similarities that all people have … Shortly after arriving, cultural differences begin to dissolve and travelers and hosts get to see all the things they have in common and build connections that can last lifetimes,” Yasui shared.
Blackburn mentioned the host families’ excitement around the Olympics, which were played every night in his billet home and felt like a unifying experience, knowing folks back home in Oregon were watching too. He brought his banjo to play local folk songs for the community, and the group paid respect at the grave of Yasui’s grandfather who cofounded the sister city connection.
On their last day, students were herded through Tokyo by Yasui and Blackburn, struck by the group-mentality and more formal nature of Japanese culture. “Many travelers were excited to go shopping and search for their favorite Anime and Manga figurines, visit massive malls, and check out cat cafes,” Yasui wrote.
Blackburn mentioned other adventures like climbing to the top of a 100-story observation tower to see to the edge of Tokyo, a city with a metropolitan area population of roughly 37 million — compared to the 2.2 million in the greater Portland area. “That was amazing and to students around 7th-12th grade it was a huge existential experience to witness,” he said.
Mayor Blackburn said he expects more Tsuruta students to visit in 2025 and hopes to resume more frequent sister city trips. Host families in Hood River area always needed to make this cultural exchange a success, and interested locals can reach out to the city to learn how to get involved.
“I am hoping this high energy continues to snowball into larger exchanges as we get closer to our 50th anniversary in 2027,” wrote Yasui.
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