Ikeda City, which is located in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture, boasts a population of 100,000. The total area of the city is about 22 square kilometres and has a long shape that stretches vertically. The city has prospered as a key transportation hub for a long time. Today, it still remains a city easily accessible to key places in Osaka, located just a 20-minute train ride from Umeda, the central district of Osaka, and also just a 20-minute train ride from Osaka International Airport. Despite its proximity to the city centre, it is rich in various natural landscapes including the Ina River and Mt. Satsuki.
Ikeda City is well-known for being the birthplace of Japan’s popular instant noodles called ‘Chicken Ramen’, which also is the very first instant noodle to be created in the world, and the popular CupNoodles Museum Osaka Ikeda also attracts many tourists from all over the world.
Although Satsukiyama Zoo in the city is the second smallest zoo in Japan, it is a hotspot for wombat fans in Japan, as three of the only four wombats in Japan are kept here. One of the three named ‘Wine’ holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest bred wombat in the world. Another attraction of the city is Gangara Fire Festival, where people parade through the city holding big torches lit with fire up to Mt. Satsuki to light the characters ‘大’-Dai and ‘大一’-Daiichi on the mountain slopes. This festival is held on 24 August every year. The city’s Shin Inagawa Bridge that crosses over the Ina River is also a favourite location for many and is affectionately nicknamed the ‘Big Harp.’
Ikeda City formed a sister city relationship with City of Launceston, Tasmania in November 1965, and they will be celebrating their 60th anniversary next year. This relationship has an interesting beginning; it was established by two high school students from each city who were pen friends and wrote to each other about their own cities. Eventually, they ended up requesting their respective local councils to become sister cities.
Since then, the cities have strengthened their bond through activities such as a youth delegation program and commemorative delegation visits on anniversaries. This year, Ikeda City was able to send a high school student to Australia, again, in August.
During the program, the participant stayed in Sydney for one week to attend language school, and visited CLAIR Sydney office where he was given a presentation on differences between Australia and Japan. He also experienced his first homestay in Sydney, and was able to experience a different culture and broaden his perspective, although cross-cultural communication would have been challenging for him.
In Launceston, the participant was very pleased to be given the unique opportunity to pay a courtesy visit to the city mayor and deputy mayor and visit local schools which cannot be experienced in a regular overseas study program. When he visited Launceston college, he gave a presentation introducing Japanese culture, and was also given the opportunity to teach origami. Not only was it a good opportunity for him to practice speaking English, but it was also a rare opportunity for him to interact with local students. Although it was his first visit to Launceston, he was sad to leave the city and wanted to stay longer as the people he met were so welcoming.
Ikeda City believes people-to-people exchange is the foundation and most important aspect of a sister city relationship. The city sincerely hopes that exchanges between the two cities will continue to further deepen in the future.
