Kurashiki City borders the Seto Inland Sea and is located between Osaka and Hiroshima. The city has a population of about 480,000. Historically, Kurashiki developed as a merchant town in the Edo Period, a textile manufacturing town in the Meiji Period, and an industrial, cultural, and tourist city in recent years.
Each region in Kurashiki has its distinctive character, from the Kurashiki Bikan Area with its beautiful white-walled buildings and rows of willow trees to the beautiful inland seascapes of the Setonaikai National Park.
Exchange with Christchurch
Christchurch in New Zealand and Kurashiki City in Japan signed the first-ever sister city agreement between the two countries on 7 March 1973. Since then, the two cities have continued to build on their sister city history through activities such as mutual exchange visits between citizens, students and people with disabilities, as well as the exchange of people involved in music and sports.
The two cities have offered support to one another at times of crisis in the hope of rapid recovery. In 2011, Kurashiki City dispatched a rescue team to Christchurch three days after the Christchurch earthquake. On the other hand, when devastating torrential rain hit Kurashiki City in 2018, members of the Sister City Committee and citizens from Christchurch visited Kurashiki City to deliver donated relief funds.
Host Town for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Building on the sister city exchange between the two cities, Kurashiki City was selected as a ‘Host Town’ for New Zealand for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and hosted training camps for the New Zealand weightlifting team in 2018 and 2019. Although a third camp scheduled for just before the Games could not take place due to COVID-19, schoolchildren in Kurashiki City and weightlifting athletes from New Zealand held an online session where they interacted and the schoolchildren cheered on the athletes. A banner with well-wishes from the schoolchildren was later delivered to the athletes.
The 50th Anniversary of Sister City Relations
Christchurch and Kurashiki City will mark the 50th anniversary of their sister city relationship in 2023. To commemorate this special occasion, a yacht rally is being planned. The yachts will depart Christchurch in March 2023 and sail for about three months to Kurashiki City. The planning for a citizen delegation exchange to commemorate the 50th anniversary is also currently underway.
While monitoring the spread of COVID-19, Kurashiki City hopes to resume people-to-people exchanges such as exchange between citizens, students and people with disabilities to further develop the friendship between Kurashiki and Christchurch.
