Exchange eliciting smiles

Deepa Bharath and Andrew Edwards

A native of Japan, Remi Kajimura stood on a balcony overlooking the

Pacific Ocean as the setting sun painted the water gold Sunday.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, giving her take on one of her first

sights in the United States. Kajimura arrived in Newport Beach on

Sunday with a delegation from Newport Beach’s sister city, Okazaki,

Japan.

Kajimura joined the delegation after winning an essay contest in

her hometown. The other winners came to Newport with their mayor,

Koichi Shibata, and a handful of Okazaki officials to spend Sunday

night in Corona del Mar at the hillside home of Flossie Dunning and

John Overdevest. The delegation shared dinner with group of Newport

residents to celebrate two decades of friendship between the cities.

Today, Shibata is scheduled to be treated to a bird’s-eye view of

Newport, receiving a helicopter tour above town. He is also slated to

cruise around Newport Harbor on a rescue boat. Members of the

delegation will tour the town and visit local destinations like UC

Irvine.

On Tuesday, Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway and Koichi Shibata,

the mayor of Okazaki, will share a historic moment and exchange

proclamations made by the two cities in honor of their 20-year

relationship.

The Sister City Assn. in both cities predominantly has a cultural

exchange program for junior high school students, said president

Connie Skibba.

Students from Newport live with Japanese families in Okazaki, and

then the children from families they stayed with in Japan come to

Newport and do the same.

It’s an amazing experience for the students, Skibba said.

“When our students go there, they don’t speak the language,” she

said. “They live with the families and eat their food. It’s a big

experience for someone their age.”

Newport Beach has had similar relationships with Antibes, France

and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

“The challenge always is language and communication,” Skibba said.

But that is no barrier to friendship, she said.

“It’s remarkable how quickly you make friends,” Skibba said.

Okazaki has also given Newport Beach a friendship sculpture, which

sits outside the Newport Beach Main Library. This time, they will

present a smaller sculpture to go in the newly constructed Mariners

Library, Skibba said.

“Not many people know this,” she said. “But the beautiful Japanese

lanterns you see in Irvine Terrace Park also came from Okazaki.”

Stonemasonry is traditionally associated with Okazaki’s culture,

Shibata said through an interpreter. Home to factories owned by

Mitsubishi and Makita tools, the city also is steeped in centuries of

heritage.

“It’s blessed with tradition, culture and nature,” Shibata said.

“In the spring, we have cherry blossoms; in the summer, we have a big

firework festival; in the fall, we have colored leaves.”

Okazaki is also home to the feudal castle where Shogun Tokagawa

Ieyasu, was born.

Ieyasu battled for control of Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries

and established a dynasty that ruled for more than 250 years.

Masao Kato, one of the founders of the program along with the late

Wendell Fish, who acted as his counterpart in Newport, said he and

Fish had the vision 20 years ago that this would be a long-lasting

bond.

“We wanted to make sure this program will last through many, many

years,” Kato said.