The first thing Riko Yamamoto noticed when she arrived at SFO International Airport was how friendly everyone was.
“People here just start conversations with strangers– it’s so weird! Japanese people don’t do that,” Yamamoto explained during a welcome party in Half Moon Bay.
Riko Yamamoto teaches her pen pal Ashley Izzarelli how to make origami.
Anna Hoch-Kenney / Coastside News Group
Yamamoto, 19, and Ren Hirose, 15, of Kariwa-mura village in Japan were the first Japanese exchange students to participate in the Half Moon Bay-Kariwa Sister City Association’s three week cultural immersion trip since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Members of the nonprofit were beyond thrilled to be hosting them. Over the next three weeks, the organization lined up a variety of outings and experiences to give Yamamoto and Hirose a taste of Coastside life, including trips down to Santa Cruz and Año Nuevo, and a day shadowing at Half Moon Bay High School.
The Half Moon Bay-Kariwa Sister City Association has hosted an estimated 30 students from Japan and enabled another 30 students from Half Moon Bay to visit Kariwa-mura since the organization was formed in the early 90s. Tom Wilkins, who helped found the group, says that despite being over 5,000 miles away, Kariwa-mura is a perfect sister-city pairing.
“When finding a sister city, you look for things the cities have in common– [Kariwa has] fishing, farming, it’s on the ocean, and it has a similar population size.”
For Yamamoto and Hirose, however, it was the differences between the two cities and cultures that they found interesting and exciting. Among the most notable differences the duo came up with was the “self-responsibility” of being able to go places “at your own risk” in the U.S., bathing rituals (in Japan, soaking and relaxing in a warm tub is a crucial part of the process), red light right turns, and driving in general, in addition to the shocking friendliness of Californians.
Ren Hirose, 15, thanks the Half Moon Bay-Kariwa Sister City Association for hosting his 3-week stay on the coast and gives his experience a “big thumbs up.”.
Anna Hoch-Kenney / Coastside News Group
At their sayonara party, Yamamoto and Hirose looked back on some of their favorite experiences over their three week visit. Their first camping trip – and s’mores – made the list, as did a San Jose Sharks game and seeing elephant seals at Año Nuevo. Both students were emotional as they said goodbye to their hosts. “I don’t want to go back to Japan… but now I will be able to speak more English the next time I come here,” Yamamoto said in a goodbye speech she wrote for the group.
The Half Moon Bay-Kariwa Sister City Association is currently raising money and making arrangements to send three students from the coast to Kariwa-mura village as the reverse part of the sister city exchange program. The students will stay with host families for three weeks in the window of June to July, learning first-hand about Japanese culture and the similarities and differences between Half Moon Bay and Kariwa-mura village.
The organizationis exploring ways to expand and send more chosen applicants in the future thanks to generous support and funding from our community, andwill be participating in the upcomingCoastside Gives fundraiserto help fund ongoing future exchange programs between the sister cities.
