Hey, Nashville. 👋 Or should we say “Konnichiwa”?

Here’s a pop quiz for you. What do Nashville + Kamakura, Japan have in common? The two might seem completely unrelated, but they are actually sister cities.

Wait, what’s a sister city? According to Sister Cities International, “A sister city, county, or state relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in two countries. A relationship is officially recognized after the highest elected or appointed official from both communities sign off on an agreement to become sister cities.”

The idea is to cultivate international relationships while having the opportunity to explore different cultures and also stimulate economic development.

Kamakura became one of our sister cities in September 2014, and the two locations have a lot in common. We have breathtaking attractions, are both tourist cities, and have great opportunities for exchange programs.

Kamakura is a seaside city home to lots of beaches and hiking trails, dozens of temples, museums, and botanical gardens. Don’t miss the Amida Buddha at Kotoku-in Temple.

And if you somehow run out of sites to see, Kamakura is just an hour away from Tokyo by train.

Nashville is home to 8,000+ Japanese citizens and over 300 businesses. Nashville also houses one of the few Consulate General of Japan offices in America.

Kamakura becoming our sister city was a big deal for Nashville culturally + economically, but we actually have more than one sister city – Belfast, Northern Ireland; Caen, France; Edmonton, Canada; Magdeburg, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Tamworth, Australia; Taiyuan + Chengdu, China are Nashville’s other current sister cities.

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