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Aspen Sister Cities welcomes Shimukappu delegates for 30th anniversary

Delegates from Shimukappu, Japan are introduced in a 30th anniversary celebration Sunday night. Aspen and Shimukappu first became sister cities in 1991.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times

Delegates from Aspen and its sister city Shimukappu, Japan celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the cities’ partnership through the Aspen Sister Cities program and renewed Shimukappu’s designation as an Aspen sister city Sunday night.

It was the second celebration of Aspen and Shimukappu’s 30th anniversary, after delegates from Aspen visited Shimukappu in October. Aspen and Shimukappu officially became sister cities in 1991 and the original 30-year anniversary celebrations were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1988 before becoming sister cities, Shimukappu organized a student exchange with Aspen. It put in motion an annual student exchange program where groups of eighth-grade students from both cities visit one another for a 10-day educational and cultural exchange.



Japanese Deputy Consul General of Denver Isamu Azechi speaks at the 30th anniversary celebration for Shimukappu and Aspen Sunday night.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times

Delegates from Shimukappu including Vice Mayor Hideyuki Matsunaga and Superintendent of Education Atsushi Tada and Japanese Deputy Consul General of Denver Isamu Azechi commended the sister cities program for its dedication to sharing international cultures and ideas.

“There are many active and cultural relations between Japan and Colorado, but the partnership between Aspen and Shimukappu is exceptional. In my mind it is a chain because it greatly contributes to strengthening the bonds between Japan and Colorado,” Azechi said. “You are an example of how to bring two different groups of people together.”




Shimukappu is a rural village located on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, with an estimated population of roughly 1,200. Shimukappu, much like Aspen, is nestled within mountains and is recognized as an international ski resort through one of its township villages, Tomamu.

A group of students from Shimukappu are currently on exchange in Aspen, where they are staying with host families. Students from Aspen went on their exchange program to Shimukappu in the fall when delegates from Aspen visited for the 30th anniversary celebration.

Students from Shimukappu, Japan on a 10-day exchange program in Aspen perform a dance to a traditional Japanese sea shanty.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times

During the celebration Sunday night, the students from Shimukappu performed a dance to a traditional Japanese sea shanty. Many delegates also shared their fond memories of Aspen and some teachers from Aspen who teach English in Shimukappu shared their memories of living in the village.

Ben Belinski, a former English teacher in Shimukappu, performs the koto, the national instrument of Japan, during a sister cities celebration between Aspen and Shimukappu, Japan Sunday night.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times
Students from Shimukappu, Japan perform a dance to a traditional Japanese sea shanty during a celebration for the 30-year anniversary of Shimukappu and Aspen’s sister city designation.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times

Mayor Torre finished the celebration by sharing a declaration with Matsunaga that renewed Shimukappu’s sister city designation with Aspen. 

Mayor Torre presents a declaration to Shimukappu Vice Mayor Hideyuki Matsunaga renewing the village’s sister city designation with Aspen during a 30-year anniversary celebration Sunday night.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times

“In 2022, Shimukappu marked its 120th anniversary. A quarter of the village history has been intertwined with the history of friendship with Aspen,” Matsunaga said in Japanese. Sister Cities Student Exchange Coordinator Kamala Marsh translated his speech.

He added, “The story of Aspen and Shimukappu, which began in 1991, has now been written on 32 pages. Let us continue to create this endless story together as our relationship evolves toward the future.”

Shimukappu Vice Mayor Hideyuki Matsunaga presents Mayor Torre with a gift at the 30th anniversary celebration Sunday night of Shimukappu and Aspen’s sister cities designation.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times
Mayor Torre presents the Shimukappu flag at the 30-year anniversary celebration of Shimukappu and Aspen’s sister cities designation. Shimukappu Vice Mayor Hideyuki Matsunaga gifted the flag to Torre during the celebration.
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times
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