Hiratsuka 平塚市, Japan
The scenic seaside city of Hiratsuka (平塚市 pronounced “Hē-rah-tskah”) boasts a 2.5 mile coastline on the Sagami Bay of the Pacific Ocean, and is approximately one hour from Tokyo. Majestic Mount Fuji is approximately 35 miles away and easily visible. Hiratsuka was chartered as a city in 1889, but the area around Hiratsuka had been settled since prehistoric times. It is home to the Shonan-Hiratsuka campus of Kanagawa University. Every July, Hiratsuka’s 270,000 residents are joined by hundreds of tourists to celebrate the Tanabata Festival, which features brightly-colored decorations, lanterns, and food stalls.
Our Partnership
Lawrence hosted the first delegation from Hiratsuka in Lawrence in February 1990.
Lawrence formalized a sister city agreement with Hirasuka, Japan in 1990. The groundwork was laid for this relationship by Carol Shankel and George Woodyard working with Hiratsuka city and Kanagawa University officials. Over the years since, many city officials, students and their families, and others have benefited from this program. Even during the global COVID pandemic relationships were maintained ‘virtually’. Read more below, read the timeline, or visit us on Facebook.
Student Exchanges
Every year a youth group, grades 7-12, is organized to spend ten days in Hiratsuka. Applicants must write an essay and submit a letter of recommendation by early fall.
2024 Application packet and Online form
Those selected must attend spring “Saturday school” sessions to prepare for the trip. They learn some language and culture while developing projects on cultural topics.
The trip to Japan lasts about 10 days in summer; it includes staying in a dormitory first, then staying with a family for a weekend, visiting schools, museums, and other points of interest. The students are accompanied by one or two chaperones.
A few weeks after returning home the student and their family reciprocate by hosting their Hiratsuka partner for about ten days in Lawrence. They visit schools, the University of Kansas campus, and are welcomed by the mayor and city officials at City Hall.
Internships
Over the decades several city interns from Hiratsuka have spent up to a year in Lawrence to study at the University of Kansas and intern with Lawrence City staff. Firefighters from Hiratsuka have also trained with Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical staff.
Delegations
Every five years Lawrence celebrates the Sister City anniversary by sending a delegation to visit Hiratsuka, and in turn hosts their delegation here. The relationship has also supported delegations investigating particular issues. For example, in November 1994 Senator Sandy Praeger led twelve legislators to study health care in Japan; she included Hiratsuka on their itinerary in order to visit hospitals and long-term care facilities. In 2015 a Lawrence delegation traveled to Hiratsuka to celebrate the 25th anniversary of sister-city-hood. Plans made for sending delegates to Hiratsuka to celebrate the 30th anniversary were canceled due to the Coronavirus.
Resources
History
The Lawrence City Commission, headed by Mayor Sandy Praeger, appointed Marnie Argersinger and Carol Shankel to organize a sister cities steering committee in September 1986. The Commission asked them not only to study and recommend an organizational structure that could support sister city relationships but also to find a sister city in Japan. A formal agreement with Hiratsuka, Japan was finalized in 1990 and many traditions were immediately established.
About Friends-of-Hiratsuka Committee
Contact the Chair of the Friends-of-Hiratsuka Committee, James Hilliard, (jamesiv@juno.com), for information about meetings. Volunteer for this committee on your annual SCL membership renewal. Suggest your own area of interest for hosting or initiating an internship, or for being a delegate or hosting a member of a delegation from Japan.
