Delegation group photo at Imperial Palace, Tokyo.

Education visit with Larry Goddard, Tyler ISD Foundation; Yasumasa Hagiware, Superintendent of Education, Yachiyo City; Linda Swindle, Tyler ISD second grade teacher.

Welcome Dinner Entertainment

Boys and Girls Chorale of Yachiyo City performance

Ellen Mussellman and Kristen Seeber entertain at the Farewell Dinner.

Farewell dinner entertainment.

YACHIYO CITY REFLECTIONS
by Carol Pendleton
June 2007

Want to feel like a Rock Star? Go to Yachiyo City with Sister Cities! From the initial greetings of smiles, bows and gifts at Yachiyo City Hall to the farewell party of good food, gifts, graceful and expressive Japanese dances combined with our Hokey Pokey and Chicken dance, we were treated as cherished guests (if not royalty).

Our activities included demonstrations and participation in calligraphy, a tea ceremony, and playing the Koto, a Japanese stringed instrument. We then tried our hand at Japanese cooking of tempura and sushi. After that we enjoyed the fruits of our labor at lunch followed by Karaoke “entertainment”. Doug Flatt and I took country western music to a new low with our rendition of the Tennessee Waltz. Although Doug said we were going to Nashville - they haven’t called yet.

We tried our creative skills at a pottery workshop and then enjoyed a tour of the Yachiyo Historical Museum. That night we were hosted by theYachiyo Boys and Girls Choir which gave a wonderful concert and then served us dinner. They were delightful!

The next day we were met by our individual hosts to spend the day – some at Disneyland, some at Edo Tokyo museum and Asakusa and some on train trips out to the countryside. Most of us were taken to the individual homes for lunch or tea.

Another delightful experience was the meeting with Ambassador Schieffer in Tokyo. He was very informative and impressive.

This ended our stay in Yachiyo, but 24 of us went on the optional tour of Kyoto and Nara. We boarded the bullet train to Kyoto. We were driven around Kyoto and then to Nara seeing Todaiji Temple with the huge Buddha and Nara Park where the more than 1000 “sacred deer” roam freely to be petted and FED. They can be aggressive and one even nipped me not once, but twice on the bottom until I opened my purse and gave him the food I had hidden there!

The next day we toured the textile center and saw a style show of Kimono. We then had time to shop and admire the beautiful silks and crafts. The following day we toured a fascinating Shogun’s home and saw beautiful gardens.

This ended our trip and we headed back to Tokyo for our l o n g trip back to the US.

SPECIAL MOMENTS:

• Police Chief Gary Swindle giving a speech in Japanese
• Gary Gross and Larry Goddard in full Samurai warrior dress
• Seeing the beautiful water lilies, Giant hydrangeas and Japanese maples.
• The Bamboo Forest
• Playing GO FISH with the middle school English class students
• Going to Tokyo with my hostess, two other mothers and six 4th grade girls
• and taking them to lunch at McDonald’s
• Pulling up beside a bus of schoolchildren and seeing a dozen cameras pop up at the windows to take our pictures.
• Dancing with Japanese friends
• Enjoying the company of my fellow travelers

Archived Photos

Tyler Sister Cities delegation is overwhelmed by the welcome extended by over 1,000 persons greeting them upon their arrival in Yachiyo City, Japan.
 

Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and a marching band also greeted arriving delegates in August of 1992. Everywhere, children were waving American flags.

The official twinning ceremony  occurs as Tyler and Yachiyo City mayors Smith Reynolds and Kazuhira Nakamura sign the document during the 1992 visit.

A tea ceremony prepared by kimono-clad Yachiyo, Japan, women demonstrates the traditional custom for Tyler Sister Cities delegate Wanda Joyce.

Enjoying a meal in Yachiyo City are (left to right) Tyler Sister Cities delegate Ann Primter, Yachiyo resident Kimie Masaki, and Tyler delegate Wanda Joyce. Kimie and Wanda are wearing their Happy Coats!
 

Sister Cities delegates don Kimonos while in Yachiyo. Left to right,  Arlene Burt, Margaret Perkins, Sue Donaldson, Pat Johns and Cris Curtis.

Enjoying a tea ceremony demonstration during a 2000 visit to Yachiyo City are (left to right) Margaret Perkins, Pat Johns, Jim Perkins, Bobby Curtis, Chris Curtis and Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle.

A  demonstration dance with fans by colorful kimono-clad Japanese women of Yachiyo during the 2000 Tyler Sister Cities visit.

Wearing kimonos during an August 2000 Summer Festival in Yachiyo, Japan, are Kimie Masaki and Tylerite Pat Johns.

A meeting at Tyler City Hall on May 29, 1991, brought discussion about official Sister City twinning ceremonies and the possible hiring of instructors from Tyler who would teach English for a one year term in Yachiyo schools. Yachiyo mayor Hideo Tomioka, commented: “Tyler is a lively, bright town.” Left to right:  Hiroshi Miyazaki, International Sister City committee member;  Tyler Mayor Smith Reynolds; Yachiyo Mayor Tomioka; translator Ray Sullivan; Satoshi Okuyama, Yachiyo deputy chief of planning, and Junichiro Ohira, Yachiyo planning department staff member.