Bath to celebrate Japanese culture, friendship

The Forecaster, February 22, 2017

By Alex Lear

BATH — A friendship forged from tragedy nearly 130 years ago will be celebrated March 4 on Japanese Culture Day.

Japanese residents cared for survivors of a Bath-built ship that wrecked offshore of Skariki, Japan, in 1889. A century later, a delegation of officials from Shariki – which later merged with four other villages to form Tsugaru City – traveled to Bath to propose a formal sister-city relationship. A declaration of the relationship was signed in 1993.

In the years since, students from the Bath and Tsugaru regions have taken part annually in an overseas exchange program. The trip is geared toward middle and high school students, who travel with adult chaperones.

Additionally, Bath celebrates that continued connection by putting on Japanese Culture Day each March. This year’s event takes place at various locations around the city from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

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