Friendship City Relations

Saku Japan ᐧ Saku Estonia



A friendship city agreement was signed on May 1, 2007 between Saku City (佐久市) in Nagano Prefecture, Japan and Saku Municipality in Harju County, Estonia. The signing ceremony took place in Saku, Japan.

Saku Municipality, Estonia
Saku City, Japan

December 5, 2016
Saku – Saku Friendship Cities Exchange: Youth Exchange

Seven students and two teachers from Kurtna School and Saku Gymnasium visited Saku City in Nagano Prefecture during October 24 – October 31 where they visited schools and experienced cultural exchange.

Details of this visit were covered in an article, published by the newspaper Õpetajate Leht (Teachers´ Newspaper). The Embassy of Japan held a small briefing to talk about Japan – Estonia relations at the Saku City Office for the group before their departure. Japanese students plan to visit Estonia in July next year.
 
Article in Õpetajate Leht (in Estonian)
English translation of the article

STUDENT´S FEEDBACK

Students of Kurtna School who visited Japan

 
Hanna-Maarja Selde                                       Maria Lutter    

 
Mari-Liis Paabstel                   Kaili Kütaru

Hanna-Maarja Selde (14)
Grade 8
I liked a lot to be in Japan. It had a wonderful nature and the mountains were especially beautiful. Japanese people are the kindest and friendliest people I have ever met. The emotions we got from visiting schools were the best ones. I had a great time in Usuda School where I had a chance to attend very interesting lessons together with the Japanese students. All students were very nice.
It was also wonderuful at Nozawa School. Children waved at us, shouted and smiled all the time. Their amazing songs touched our hearts. It was very cozy and nice at the place of the family where everyone were very sweet and friendly. Although they couldn´t speak English much, their efforts nevertheless warmed my heart. The moments I spent with the family were especially beautiful. My memories of Japan always make me teary-eyed.
 
Maria Lutter (15)
Grade 9
I could write a book about the things we did and saw during those seven days. I got the same amount of new experiences and beautiful memories. The most special thing for me was living with the Japanese family. I got assurance to the impression that Japanese people really are very nice and caring. Also Japanese nature is something that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.
 
Mari-Liis Paabstel (15)
Grade 9
Trip to Japan was very exciting and filled with activities. We were able to visit many places and experience new exciting things, such as visiting the room at the fire department where the emergency calls are being received. Afterwards, we were able to use the water hose and try their uniform. The most novel thing for me was trying on a kimono and on the last day it was so much fun when my host family took me and Hanna-Maarja horse riding in the morning. I was really happy for my family, not because the father was American, but because they were so nice and helpful, always asking us if everything was fine and they were really interested to learn about what we had and didn´t have in Estonia.
We were able to try very interesting dishes in Japan and I remember rice the most, because it was eaten almost everywhere, as well as green tea, which I probably will never drink again and persimmons that I like very much and which tasted much better than the ones we have in Estonia.
Another lovely event was planting flowers in Saku because we were able to leave a mark to Japan, regardless of the fact that the flowers will be replaced. And those grandmothers who helped us with planting and with whom we later had a small meal were also very cute. I was surprised that in Japan children don´t help their parents with household chores although I initially thought that they help with everything. As a conclusion, I would say that this trip was surely the most memorable and sweetest experience I have had until now and we were also really blessed to have Miki and Margis with us.
 
Ms. Kaili Kütaru (15)
Grade 9
Everything in Japan was very pleasant for me, widened my perspective and gave me more courage. Everyone I met were very nice and helpful. I was most impressed by our visit to Usuda School because I was able to experience school life and classes; also I ended up with a very nice class with whom we even played some games at the end of the day. I will remember this trip until the rest of my life and I´m really grateful for this experience.
                                   
Students of Saku Gymnasium who visited Japan

 
Helis Mosona                            Kätlin Ristlaan                         Liis-Marii Järve
 
Ms. Helis Mosona (14)
Grade 8
I´m really grateful for this opportunity. Thanks to this project I got to know new people and different cultures. I stepped out of my comfort zone to discover new and interesting things. It was worth it. Thanks to the help of Estonians and Japanese, I was able to make it in Japan. The food which was served to us at our accommodation, as well as by the families, was very tasty. During our stay in Saku Japan we had nice sunny weather.
I felt like Japanese Saku was located inside of a bowl. This feeling was due to the fact that it was surrounded by mountains. I hope this project will continue and give new opportunities to other students as well.
 
Ms. Kätlin Ristlaan (15)
Grade 9
To be honest, I wasn´t really a fan of Japan before joining the Japanese Club. During my trip I discovered that Japanese culture is very unique and interesting, so now I´m very much interested in Japanese culture. This trip was a lesson to see cultural differences between our two countries as well. Some day in the future I would really like to return and experience Japan some more. This project gave me courage to talk in English and also practice my Japanese a little. I´m really grateful for this experience.
 
Ms. Liis-Marii Järve (16)
Grade 10
I have been a huge fan of Japanese culture since I was little and therefore traveling to the Land of the Rising Sun has been one of my biggest dreams. Coming out from the Narita Airport, I still couldn´t believe that I was actually there.
One of the first things I noticed was that in reality Japan is much more beautiful than on photos. Everything was in real colors and cute, just like anime. We were lucky because during out stay the weather was wonderful considering the season. We had rain only once and it was sunny during the rest of our stay. The most memorable moments from our trip include grannies in pink shirts (the local grannies´ club who helped us plant flowers), sado, visiting schools and Tokyo. It was a really good experience to stay with a host family. I was able to practice Japanese language, see people´s daily lives and try different Japanese foods.

 

January 2016
Saku City in Japan and Saku Municipality in Estonia update the exchange program

Between 14 and 18 January, Mr. Seiji Yanagida, Mayor of Saku City, Japan and delegates visited Saku Municipality in Estonia to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Municipality. Taking this opportunity, the mayors signed a new memorandum for the students` exchange programme. Mayor Yanagida delivered a presentation about Saku City as a pre-games training site for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Signing the memorandum for the students` exchange programme
 

August 2012
"SAKU Estonian Festival"

The first Saku Estonian Festival was held during August 2012 in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture. The festival introduced Estonian culture, food and handicrafts to Japanese visitors. There was a photo exhibition about Estonia and Estonian Saku beer along with various other Estonian goods was sold. This event was a big success.