Delegates from Anchorage’s Japanese sister city celebrate park renamed in their honor

Chitose Taiko drummer Mieko Tokairin gestures to Sand Lake Elementary School students arsenic her group Senbu Senbi Taiko performs connected Aug. 28, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

For 55 years, Anchorage and nan Japanese metropolis of Chitose person been sister cities. 

To commemorate nan partnership, delegates from Chitose visited  Alaska this week and witnessed nan general renaming of a section parkland to grant their city. 

Though nan Anchorage Assembly signed nan papers to make Chitose Park a reality, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said existent and erstwhile Sand Lake Elementary School students did nan bulk of nan lobbying for nan sanction change.

“I want to admit nan students and their triumphant efforts to rename this parkland successful ceremony of our friendship,“ LaFrance said.

Sand Lake Elementary School main Linson Thompson is talented a instrumentality by delegates from Chitose, Japan. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

Sand Lake Elementary School hosts nan Anchorage School District’s Japanese connection immersion program. Students statesman astatine Sand Lake earlier continuing nan programme astatine Mears Middle School and Dimond High School.

The renaming ceremonial began astatine an assembly successful nan Sand Lake Elementary gym connected Wednesday greeting arsenic students were introduced to a big of Chitose delegates and nan sounds of taiko drumming filled nan area. Chitose drummers from 千舞泉美 (Senbu Senbi Taiko) moreover led students successful a spot of telephone and response, arsenic group leader Mieko Tokairin struck a mini doorbell successful rhythm, garnering a matching clap from students successful nan gym. 

Mieko Tokairin, leader of Senbu Senbi taiko group, performs astatine Sand Lake Elementary School. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

After nan assembly, students, and metropolis leaders from Chitose and Anchorage walked complete to nan recently renamed Chitose Park. 

Chitose is simply a metropolis of astir 98,000 group successful nan northernmost land and prefecture of Japan, Hokkaido. Anchorage Assembly chair Chris Constant said nan parkland was chosen to grant nan 55 years since Chitose became Anchorage’s first sister city.

“It only made consciousness for america to find a parkland present successful Anchorage to grant our first sister city,” Constant said, “and nan cleanable prime was nan parkland straight connected to our Japanese immersion schoolhouse astatine Sand Lake Elementary Park. So present we are”

Some of nan students who lobbied for nan sanction alteration said astatine nan expansive opening of nan park, including 11-year-old Stella Falsey, who now attends nan Japanese immersion programme astatine Mears Middle School.

“We are grateful for each nan improvements to Chitose Park that nan metropolis has made successful specified a short time,” Falsey said successful English and Japanese. “We dream moreover much group successful our organization travel to usage nan dock, nan learning laboratory and nan way successful this beautiful place.”

Chitose Mayor Ryūichi Yokota delivers remarks astatine Chitose Park successful Anchorage. Next to him are Mears Middle School students Stella Falsey (middle) and Addison Myers. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

As portion of nan Chitose delegation, Mayor Ryūichi Yokota said he appreciated nan activity that went into building nan park, which includes benches, a bid of dressed up pillars and accusation connected adjacent animals, translated into Japanese. 

“I was amazed by nan students’ imaginative imagination,” Yokota said. “So I conscionable learned location are galore kinds of plates on nan pillars, and those correspond insect study and nan lake, thing that students came up pinch to correspond this beautiful park. So I was very happy to spot that.”

Yokota besides noted that now some cities person parks honoring each other. 

“In Chitose, we besides person a parkland named aft Anchorage. We telephone it Anchorage Park,” Yokota said. “So astatine nan Anchorage Park, group tin bask mini golf, and there’s galore playground accommodation truthful group tin bent retired and person a bully time.”

Anchorage Assembly Chair Chris Constant and Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance subordinate Chitose Mayor Ryūichi Yokota and erstwhile Sand Lake Elementary students successful holding signs for nan recently renamed Chitose Park connected Aug. 28, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

Constant, who’s been to Anchorage Park successful Chitose, said nan parkland moreover has trees that were imported successful from Anchorage. He said he hopes Chitose Park will soon person thing similar.

“The metropolis flower of Chitose is an azalea,” Constant said. “And truthful we’re going to activity pinch our Parks section to amended this area pinch immoderate azaleas.”

Constant thanked nan section Parks and Recreation Department for cleaning distant graffiti and rubbing up nan benches astatine Chitose Park successful caller weeks. He said a batch of nan backing to hole up nan parkland is coming from a bid of bonds, and he hopes Anchorage residents will statesman flocking to it. 

“There’s discussions now pinch nan Parks and Rec Department to adhd this to nan database of rentable parks truthful that group tin travel to this beautiful spot and possibly person a wedding aliases day parties and bring much group into nan park, because activation is nan cardinal to patient spaces,” Constant said.

Constant said since arriving Sunday night, nan Chitose delegation has met pinch various Japanese organizations successful municipality and visited Seward. They’ll besides be nan Alaska State Fair earlier embarking connected a astir 30-hour formation backmost to Chitose this weekend.