Locals visit Misawa, Japan

5 area locals visit Misawa, Japan
Sister City to East Wenatchee

Submitted article
EAST WENATCHEE -- Fifteen local delegates, led by Jerrilea Crawford, Wenatchee City Council member Linda Herald and David Kelts, recently experienced a trip full of wonder in Japan. The group, ages 13-74, arrived as the Tokyo heat wave broke, and were lucky to see Mount Fuji clearly on a summer day.
We traveled through the Tokyo train station easily, along with at least 1 million Japanese commuters, keeping track of one another by our bright red delegate shirts. Many were awed by Meiji Shrine, and mesmerized by a very human-looking female robot at a department store, welcoming shoppers in a clear voice, and moving realistically. We stared and tried hard to find a physical flaw that gave her robot status away, and couldn’t find one.
After tours, fun adventures and shopping, the marvelous shinkansen (bullet train) headed north toward our Sister City Misawa at speeds of up to 200 mph. Soon we were among our Japanese “Sister City family” and friends, with famous kindness and generosity, at the International Center. Kindergartners sang and presented flowers, home-stay families were introduced, and very soon we were listening to koto players at our wonderful Welcome Banquet.
In Misawa, we experienced other natural wonders: two small early morning earthquakes, and the edge of a typhoon with hours of heavy rain one evening. Thankfully, it was cooler than in past years. Mayor Taneichi’s famous barbecue, with fabulous foods from many grill stations, including maguro tuna caught that morning, along with the chance to pound rice into mochi, was a highlight. See the E-Edition for the rest of the story.