Sister City, Okayama, Japan - San Jose, CA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 37° 19.761 W 121° 53.587
10S E 598061 N 4131983
Okayama, Japan is one of San Jose, California's seven sister cities around the world.
Waymark Code: WM9NZ9
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 09/11/2010
Views: 3
This sister city plaza is located along the Guadalupe Parkway Trail behind the
San Jose Performing Arts Center. In addition to a flagpole flying the Okayama flag, and a stone bench, there is a beautiful steel statue of
Momotaro, a Japanese folk hero, in Japanese-style historical dress.Momotaro means Peach Taro and is translated to Peach Boy. A long story of "The Peach Boy" is told on a plaque, mounted in the ground nearby.
From the nearby sign:
Located in southwestern Japan, Okayama boasts nearly 650,000 metropolitan residents and a regional population of nearly 2 million. The city is best known for its beautiful Korakuen Garden, which was built in 1687 and is regarded as one of Japans most outstanding public gardens. San Jose has modeled its own Japanese Friendship Garden in Kelley Park after the Korakuen Garden. Two other notable landmarks within this Japanese city are the Okayama Castle and the Okayama Symphony Hall.
Okayama lies in the midst of a rich agricultural region, but its economy has diversified to include a range of manufacturing industries. Several research parks have opened, fostering the growth of an information technology sector, which creates a natural connection to the businesses of San Jose.
Among the first sister cities, Okayama, Japan and San Jose formalized their friendship in 1957.
History of the Sister Cities Program
The Sister Cities Program began as an element of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's People-to-People Programs shortly after World War II. After meeting with American leaders from many fields, President Eisenhower proposed this initiative to engage private citizens in international diplomacy. By pairing like cities across the globe, the program sought to spark peace and conversation between people, without the influence of their respective governments.
San Jose has seven sister cities, which were chosen because of their social, economic, historic and cultural ties to the city: Okayama, Japan; San Jose, Costa Rica; Tainan Taiwan; Veracruz, Mexico; Dublin, Ireland; Pune India; and Ekaterinburg, Russia.