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About Ami-machi
About Ami-machi
Ami-machi has a population of about 48,000 people, and is a mix of agricultural and small-town landscapes. Its primary agricultural products are watermelons, lotus roots, and ‘yakon’, a root vegetable originally from Latin America.
Ami-machi played an important military role in Japan during the 1930s and 1940s. It was the home of a preparatory flight training school for boys across the country aged 14 - 17 hoping to enter the Navy's pilot training program. Many of these trainees died in kamikaze missions towards the end of World War II. Now the site holds the Yokaren Peace Memorial Museum, dedicated preserving the memory of the boys who trained there, and emphasizing the importance of peace in the world.
Like Superior, Ami-machi is a university town. The Ibaraki University School of Agriculture, and the Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences are both located there. Through the Sister City connection, UW-Superior has formed an exchange agreement with Ibaraki University's main campus in Mito City, and has welcomed a number of students from there, as well as one from the School of Agriculture in Ami-machi.
You can find more details about Ami-machi here:
How the Sister City Relationship Began
How the Sister City Relationship Began
The City of Superior, Wisconsin began to explore a Sister City relationship with Japan in 1995. In the spring and summer of 1996, two cities were reviewed and Ami-machi was chosen as a prospective Sister City, due to its similar population size and location near a large freshwater lake. Ami-machi is located in Ibaraki Prefecture, about 38 miles northeast of Tokyo. It is located on the shores of Lake Kasumigaura, the second largest lake in Japan. Ami Mayor Koji Kawata and Superior Mayor Margaret Ciccone signed the first protocol agreement between the two cities in 1997. As part of that agreement, Student and Adult delegations are exchanged on a biennial basis with Ami sending delegations in odd years and Superior sending delegations in even years.
Protocol Agreements
Protocol Agreements
The Sister City relationship is renewed every five years with the signing of a new Protocol Agreement. We were scheduled to sign the next agreement for 2021 - 2025 during our delegation visit to Japan in August 2020, but we were unable to travel then. The Protocol Agreement documents were exchanged by mail, and the signing was completed by each Mayor on November 12, 2020.
Mayor Chiba signed the Agreement in Ami-machi.
Mayor Chiba signed the Agreement in Ami-machi.
The 2021 - 2025 Protocol Agreement
The 2021 - 2025 Protocol Agreement
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