The city of Toba, Japan, resides on a scenic coastline near the northeast end of the Shima Peninsula, facing the Pacific Ocean.
Even though a one-way trip from Santa Barbara is more than 5,000 miles, the two cities have similar scenery and interests that have forged a long-lasting relationship.
“We may have difference languages, but we get around it,” said Linda Mathews, president of Santa Barbara-Toba Sister City Organization. “There’s such goodwill in the people of Toba that we make it work, despite the language barriers.”
Twenty-four delegates from Toba were introduced to Santa Barbara community members and leaders during this week’s visit.
To symbolize the 50th anniversary of friendship, three Japanese cherry blossom trees, donated by the city of Toba, were planted downtown Wednesday in the Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens at 1500 Santa Barbara St.
The sun was shining on attendees and everyone stood side-by-side, took photos, shook hands and exchanged hugs during the ceremony.
“We don’t see them often, but when we do, it’s like family,” Mathews said.
Toba’s Mayor Kusuichi Kida and Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider turned a ceremonial shovelful of dirt and planted the green trees in the park.
“It’s an honor to have this memory and to have the trees here,” Kida said. “We brought the trees so they could grow up every year and grow with the relationship between the two cities.”
(Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)
The Toba citizens spent Wednesday touring Santa Barbara with locals.
They walked around State Street, the historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse and rode the trolley to the Dolphin Fountain at Stearns Wharf, which is a symbol of the partnership with Toba.
They were also hosted by Santa Barbara families at their homes, took a visit to a sea urchin factory, saw the Santa Barbara Zoo and had dinner at the University Club. The group leaves for Los Angeles on Friday.
The Santa Barbara-Toba Sister City partnership began in 1966, and since then the cities have had exchanges and offered each other help during disasters.
A Toba delegation visited Santa Barbara in 1990 at the same time the Painted Cave Fire broke out.
Toba citizens organized a fundraiser and donated more than $15,000 to Santa Barbara for restoration projects after the fast-moving blaze destroyed more than 600 homes and structures in the hills above the city.
The Santa Barbara-Toba Sister City Organization raised more than $30,000 for relief when the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tōhoku unleashed a tsunami that impacted Toba, which is located 200 miles southwest of Tokyo.
The 30-foot waves created about $24 million in damages and impacted the city of more than 20,000 people, Mathews said.
“It was a big hit for them,” Mathews said. “The citizens of Santa Barbara have a good heart for the people on the other side of the globe, because of this relationship we can make new friends.”
Mathews said the two cities have a lot in common.
“We have similarities as far as the geographic location, the environment, and conservation issues, nature and we both produce world class seafood,” Mathews said. “The point is to teach local citizens about different cultures and teach Japanese citizens about Americans.”
Santa Barbara is Sister Cities with six other cities: Dingle, Ireland; Kotor, Montenegro; Patras, Greece; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines; and Weihai, People’s Republic of China.
The organization of Sister Cities International dates back to 1956.
President Dwight Eisenhower proposed an idea to form a network and partnership between the United States and other countries, which led to the Sister City program.
“Eisenhower wanted a real grass-roots and person-to-person diplomacy,” Mathews said.
Schneider, who is one of many mayors and city council members who visited Toba, wrote a haiku for the tree planting ceremony.
“Today we rejoice, Sister City friendships and commemorate,” Schneider said in her poem.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
