While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected towns and cities around the world differently over the last several months, it turns out that sister cities Whistler and Karuizawa, Japan have had remarkably similar experiences.
From a shuttered resort, to low cases and a slow reopening, Karuizawa appears to have encountered a very similar impact from the pandemic as this mountain resort.
Karuizawa itself has had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, but in Nagano Prefecture, the jurisdiction where it’s located, there have been 77, said Mayor Susumu Fujimaki through a translated email.
Japan declared a state of emergency on April 16, he added.
“We were requested to refrain from non-essential outings and especially avoid visiting outside of the Nagano Prefecture [with] the aim of decreasing person-to-person contact by 80 per cent,” said Fujimaki.
“Therefore, many of the shops, excluding daily necessity shops, restaurants, hotels and tourist facilities were voluntarily closed. Those restaurants that sustained operations were mainly for delivery and take-out.”
Many second homeowners left their high-density urban homes to spend their quarantine in Karuizawa, he added.
Since the state of emergency was lifted on May 25, the community has also entered a new normal with physical distancing, masks in public and hand washing—like Whistler.
While the term “new normal” is familiar in Whistler, Karuizawa is also abiding by a rule to avoid the “three Cs,” which include “enclosed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places, and close contact settings.”
Looking ahead, the community is also welcoming guests back this summer, but with safety measures in place.
“Almost all the events have been cancelled,” Fujimaki said. “We would like to hold the upcoming events based on the social activity roadmap that Nagano Prefecture drew [up]. This means the events involving nationwide or a wide geographical movement of people must be cancelled and the number of people who participate in the events must be approximately half of its venue’s occupancy limit and must be commenced in a phased manner.”
Then, of course, there’s the Sister City Exchange program, in which youth from both communities visit each other’s homes.
In the spring, the exchange program had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Students in Karuizawa were very much looking forward to their visit to your community,” Fujimaki said. “They were so shocked when they were told that the program had to be cancelled and some of them burst into tears. When they faced the reality of the global pandemic, they wished the people of Whistler safety, low financial effects, and few infected by the virus.”
This year marked the 21st year of the formalized Sister City program between the two communities.
