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Sister cities linked by Games, resort environment

Canadian-born missionary key to Karuizawa’s emergence as a resort

This year, Japan and Canada are celebrating the 75 th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations. The two nations have a long history, some good, some not so good. However, many individuals in the diplomatic world believe that communication between people, and cultural exchanges, are vital to international relations.

In March 1999, Karuizawa, located in Nagano Prefecture, became Whistler’s sister city. How did it all start?

Karuizawa’s emergence as a resort began in 1886. Alexander Croft Shaw, a Canadian-born missionary (his descendants live in Toronto today) of Scottish decent, spent a summer in the area and soon after recommended it to friends as a retreat away from the summer heat. He built a cottage, and it wasn’t long before Shaw’s missionary friends were doing the same.

By 1893 the Usui Railways opened up the area, taking approximately six hours to travel up from Tokyo. (Today it takes one hour on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Bullet Train. The Tokyo- Nagano line opened in October 1997.) And in 1905, Naoyoshi Yamamoto opened the Mikasa Hotel, the first Western style hotel in Japan. Designed and constructed by the Japanese, the architecture is entirely Western. Today it is designated as a national cultural heritage site.

Officially, the town of Karuizawa was established on Aug. 1, 1923. The local government consists of one mayor and 20 assembly members who are elected for a four-year term. The municipal flower is the primula (primrose) and the municipal tree is the magnolia. Mount Asama (a volcano) at 2,568 metres, is the highest peak in the area, but its off limits as it has been active over the past several years. Forests of larches and birch are home to approximately 130 species of birds, and approximately 1,500 species of plants.

In 1952, skating rinks were built to entice winter visitors to the area. Trains and buses offered trips from Tokyo and visitor numbers did increase. In time, national and international skating events were hosted in Karuizawa.

In 1964 Tokyo held the 18 th Olympic Summer Games, becoming the first city outside of Europe and America to do so. Awarding the Olympic games to Japan was an act of reconciliation after World War II. At the opening ceremonies, the Olympic flame was carried into the stadium by a young man who had been born near Hiroshima on Aug. 6 th , 1945; the same day an atomic bomb was dropped on the city.

The Tokyo Olympics introduced satellite television and the Games were broadcast to living rooms around the world.

Karuizawa hosted the equestrian events at the 1964 Games: dressage, jumping and a 32.7km endurance race. Forty-eight participants representing 12 nations competed in the three-day events.

Thirty-four years later, in 1998, Karuizawa hosted the curling events for the Nagano Winter Olympics. Today, Karuizawa is the only city in the history of the Olympic Games to host both summer and winter Olympic events.

Mr. Arai, who was the vice chairperson for the Olympic curling site, explained to me that curling was designated to be a demonstration sport at the Nagano Olympics. At first, Olympic representatives thought the event could be held in Nagano; however, after the logistics were looked at, and a site couldn’t be found, the governor of Nagano asked the municipality of Karuizawa to host the curling events. The mayor and council members of Karuizawa believed curling would be a low spectator sport. In fact, at that time, they didn’t know what curling was – therefore, they wanted to host the women’s hockey as well.

After researching the logistics, organizers realized that they didn’t have the capacity to house the athletes for both events. (Karuizawa was also scheduled to host a youth camp during the Olympics, where junior high school students from all the participating countries would meet with local people, to share and to learn about each other’s culture.) They chose to host curling events. Then, in June of 1993, the International Olympic Committee decided that curling would be an official event at the Nagano Games.

Before the Olympics, most Japanese weren’t aware of the sport.

Representatives from the Japan Curling Association travelled to Canada to learn more about maintaining the rinks. Today, in Japan, curling is widespread and gaining popularity.

In the men’s event, Switzerland won the gold, Canada the silver and Norway the bronze. In the women’s event Canada won the gold, Denmark the silver and Sweden the bronze.

It was at those curling events that Leonard J. Edwards, Canada’s Ambassador to Japan, suggested to Karuizawa’s former Mayor Matsuba, that Karuizawa and Whistler become sister cities.

The following year, on March 3, 1999, in Whistler, Mayors O’Reilly and Sato, representing their respective communities, signed the sister city relationship agreement on Whistler Mountain.

The document reads: "The municipality of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada and the Town of Karuizawa, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano-ken, Japan have agreed to pledge a special sister city relationship in an effort to understand and appreciate our respective countries’ culture and history. We will develop our friendship through our educational, cultural, economic and other exchanges between our citizens which we hope will contribute to our countries’ prosperity and world peace."

In his letter of congratulations to the mayor, city councillors and citizens of Karuizawa, Edwards stated: "Sister city ties are an important element in the overall Canada-Japan relationship. As you expand your contacts you will be deepening the understanding of Canada in Japan."

Karuizawa is also sister city to Campos do Jordao, in the state of Sao Paolo, Brazil. They have been sister cities since 1968.

At 934 metres, Karuizawa is considered the gateway to Nagano Prefecture. The local resident population is around 18,000. That number swells significantly during the summer months when people travel to their second homes.

In 2003 Karuizawa received approximately 7,644,000 tourists. After Japanese visitors, the top 10 nations in descending order are: Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, the United States, China, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and France.

Annually, Karuizawa hosts the Wakaba (spring leaf) Festival, the Momiji (autumn leaf) Festival and the Kori (ice sculpture) Festival. Special cultural tours are offered, and all three events have been a huge success and continue to grow in popularity.

There are 18 museums and cultural facilities. The Museum of History and Culture opened in 1963. The transition of the area’s long history and culture are chronologically presented over several rooms. One display exhibits agricultural life and tools from ancient times when people lived in scattered villages, while another shows a breathtaking collection of fine Chinese porcelain, dating from the first century BC through to the 19th century.

Sports facilities include: 11 golf courses, three equestrian clubs, two swimming pools, one skating rink in summer (three in the winter), three camping sites, one ski slope, three gymnasiums, and curling rinks.

Karuizawa is one of Japan’s trendiest resorts. The main shopping streets are Kyukaru-dori and Mikasa-dori. Like Whistler, shopkeepers sell everything from designer sunglasses to products made locally.

Mr. Arai, now Director of Karuizawa’s Welfare Division, remarked, "The Olympics, and being Whistler’s sister city, has created a circle of international friends. It’s important for people of Whistler to learn about Karuizawa, and for Karuizawa residents to learn about Whistler. We have a very good feeling about the Canadian people."



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