sister-cities

  • | |

    Go Go Australia Festival In Matsudo Stems Out Of A Friendship Grown From Seeds

    A letter, a eucalyptus tree and 55 years of Australia–Japan connections 1通の手紙から始まった55年 A schoolgirl asking for eucalyptus seeds might seem an unlikely beginning for an international relationship. ユーカリの種が欲しい。そんな一人の女子生徒からの手紙が、国際交流の始まりになるとは、当時は誰も想像しなかったかもしれません。1958年、松戸市立第五中学校の女子生徒が、オーストラリア大使館にユーカリの種を求める手紙を送りました。その手紙をきっかけに、松戸市と現在のメルボルンのホワイトホース市との交流は少しずつ広がり、1971年に正式な姉妹都市提携へと発展した。 In 1958, a student at Matsudo Municipal Daigo Junior High School wrote to the Australian Embassy asking for eucalyptus seeds. The request was answered, and the relationship between Matsudo and what is now the City of Whitehorse in Melbourne gradually developed. In 1971, the two cities formally became sister cities. In 2026, Matsudo and Whitehorse are celebrating 55 years of their sister-city relationship. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan–Australia Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation….

  • |

    Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds A Slice of Oz in Sleepy Saitama

    Koshigaya, located some 30 kilometers from downtown Tokyo, and Campbelltown, which is situated about 50 kilometers from Sydney’s central business district, were almost made for each other, even if only serving as satellite cities for their respective countries’ largest cities. Koshigaya and Campbelltown are sister cities and it’s hard to see a better example of the custom than the relationship between the Japanese bed town and its Aussie sibling. Koshigaya is also home to a picturesque corner of Australia, complete with wallabies, emus and some lovely wild birds, including rainbow lorikeets, superb parrots, Major Mitchell’s cockatoos, tawny frogmouths and kookaburras. The Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds in Koshigaya could arguably…