(Chelsea Update would like to thank Deborah Oakley, Barbara Locks, and Chris Frayer for the information and photo in this story.)
The Chelsea-Shimizu exchange program started in 1994.
More than 200 Chelsea area families have participated in this program, with seven students visiting Shimizu, Chelsea’s Sister City, in 2019. Shimizu is in Hokkaido, a large island north of Honshu, the main island in Japan.
Long-term friendships have been built.
Due to economic circumstances in Shimizu, this exchange is taking a 2-year break. Please contact Deborah Oakley [email protected] if you are interested in the future of this program. For more information, please check out our website, www.Chelsea-Shimizu.org.
The photo is from the group’s 2019 trip. Shimizu mothers assisted our group in preparing for a traditional Japanese ceremony by dressing us in yukatas, summer kimonos that belong to their families.
The seven girls are all current freshmen students at Chelsea High School.
