Alaska Japanese Club Homer celebrates sister city through cultural events

Published 4:30 am Tuesday, June 30, 2026

The City of Homer is honoring a major milestone with its sister city from the other side of the world after its recent cultural exchange program.

Homer marked the 40th anniversary of its longtime sister city partnership with Teshio, Hokkaido, Japan in 2024 – a bond officially formalized on April 7, 1984 between two small northern coastal communities linked by maritime heritage, snowy winters, and a shared spirit of resilience.

The decades-long friendship has thrived through student exchanges, cultural performances, and mutual gifts that now enrich local collections.

Since 2022, the Alaska Japanese Club Homer has worked to foster ties between the two cities through online class sessions and its student ambassador program. The club’s 2025 student ambassadors recently shared their experiences at local schools following their visit to Teshio.

Students met with Mayor Tadashi Yoshida and council members, and enjoyed participating in calligraphy, tea ceremonies, and music classes, as well as homemade school lunches at Teshio’s schools. They also had a Japanese taiko session with their local taiko group.

As a token of the club’s appreciation, students crafted 70 chopstick holders to present to Teshio town council, staff, and the community, accompanied by local gifts from the City of Homer, including a handmade banner by Ruby Nofziger.

“Teshio Mayor Yoshida and their community were very thankful that our community has been supporting our programs, especially the student ambassadors’ program to send our first student ambassadors to bond relationships more,” said club president Megumi Beams.

“We are also deeply grateful to Teshio for hosting our visitors who are Homer residents and were former exchange students from Homer and Washington, D.C.”

Beams added that the Alaska Japanese Club is encouraging future generations to become global citizens through interactions with Homer’s sister city and to support a sustainable world community by building cross-cultural ties through education, presentations, culinary events, traditional music performances, and Japanese language arts.

“Those actions support the values and practices of the community,” she said. “Our true friendships without boundaries with Teshio have been developed through those programs.”

Through generous donations from throughout the community, the club has been able to hold taiko drum workshops at the Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College. Materials donated allowed for the drums to be built.

The club’s taiko master, Mr. Furuta from Tokyo, will be back in Homer for a drumming workshop at Bishop’s Beach on July 21 from 3 to 6 p.m. and for the Japanese Summer Festival at Hornaday Park on July 25 from 3 to 7 p.m.

The club will also be part of the 4th of July Parade, and will be offering a full slate of one-hour group taiko drumming sessions at the Homer United Methodist Church on July 3 at 4 p.m., July 10 at 2:30 p.m., July 24 at 2 p.m., and July 31 at 4 p.m.

There will also be a Japanese kimchi cooking class at the church on July 7 from noon to 2:30 p.m.

Beams is inviting the community to join them in these special events, and to continue supporting the club as it gets set to embark on its next trip to Teshio.

“We would appreciate your monetary donations, baked goods, other fundraising supplies such as wide-mouth pint or quart jars with lids toward our 2027 student ambassador trip to our sister city, Teshio, Hokkaido in Japan in June 2027,” she said.

“We sincerely appreciate your continued kindness and support.”