Equipped with colorful umbrellas, visitors from Nanae, Hokkaido, Japan, Concord’s sister city, braved Monday’s rain and clouds for a firsthand view of Old North Bridge and Minute Man National Historical Park. Photo by Celeste Katz Marston

Welcome back to Concord, Nanae! 

By Kelly Walters  Correspondent
November 1, 2023

It was a declaration of renewed friendship heard (literally) ‘round the world.  

Concordians and visitors from Nanae, Japan came together at the Town House Sunday night to celebrate and share a toast to the far-flung communities’ enduring sister city relationship.  

Masaki Niwata, the Nanae Town Official, right, bows as he receives the gift of a photograph of North Bridge from Susan Curtin of the Concord Nanae Network during the signing ceremony at the Town House. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge
Yuika Kubota and Rio Kubota, center, both 16 and from Nanae, Japan, and Concordians listen during a signing ceremony renewing Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae at the Town House.
Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge

“Hundreds of residents of both the town of Concord and the town of Nanae have visited their sister city and have established countless relationships and friendships,” Concord-Nanae Network (CNN) member Holly Cratsley read from a Massachusetts General Court Resolution celebrating the formal relationship which dates to 1997.   

Shun Katano, 17, of Nanae, Japan, right, listens as the Concord Minutemen perform in front the Town House before a signing ceremony renewing Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae. At right, Yuika Kubota, left, and Rio Kubota, both 16 and from Nanae, Japan, listen as the Concord Minutemen perform in front the Town House. Photos by Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge

The delegation of Japanese visitors arrived the previous day from Nanae, an agricultural town on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. CNN member Mike Lawson said a Concord school bus collected the delegates from the airport and ferried them to their host families. After a private dinner, the visitors walked to the Town House for the ceremony. 

Nanae Mayor Futoshi Sugihara attended the Concord event virtually from Japan, where it was Monday morning.  

Futoshi Sugihara, the mayor of Nanae, Japan, appears in a live video hookup for a signing ceremony renewing Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae. It was Monday morning in Japan. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge

Deputy Consul General of Japan Suguru Minoya, Concord Select Board Chair Henry Dane, Sugihara, Lawson and others offered messages of welcome, mutual appreciation and hopes for an enduring and enriching relationship between the two communities.  

The speakers recounted past trips and milestones that have marked the towns’ long-standing relationship, including a shared musical performance by high school students from both towns.  

Henry Dane, center, chair of the Select Board, holds up the the renewal of Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae, Japan, for the broadcast in Japan as Minoya Suguru, left, Deputy Consul General of the Japan consulate in Boston, and Masaki Niwata, the Nanae Town Official look on during a signing ceremony at the Town House. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge

Concord’s Fife and Drum band filled the Town House with stirring music, and the Minute Men stood by.  

Susan Curtin of the Concord Nanae Network wears an “I love Nanae” pin during the renewal ceremony for the sister city affiliation with Nanae, Japan. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge

CNN’s Susan Curtin presented Nanae delegate Masaki Niwata with a framed photograph of the Old North Bridge, and Niwata offered the town a hand-crafted ceramic vase by a Nanae artist. 

To enthusiastic applause, Dane announced the Select Board had officially designated October 29 as Nanae Day in Concord.  

Moments of intentional coordination bridged the gap between in-person and virtual attendees: guests in Japan shared a toast on Zoom with in-person attendees after officials simultaneously signed English and Japanese copies of a proclamation renewing the commitment to the sister city relationship.  

On Monday, the delegation braved the rain to tour the spot where the American Revolution began in 1775, approaching from the British side before pausing on the Old North Bridge to  

to hear about the history-changing events and get an up-close look at Daniel Chester French’s Minute Man statue.  

Equipped with colorful umbrellas, visitors from Nanae, Hokkaido, Japan, Concord’s sister city, braved Monday’s rain and clouds for a firsthand view of Old North Bridge and Minute Man National Historical Park. Photo by Celeste Katz Marston

“There’s a lot of cooperation on many levels here, which is really fabulous,” CNN member Nancy McJennett said.  

The school-aged delegates shadowed local students and led cultural presentations, such as teaching students to print their names in Japanese characters.

McJennett said a Japanese English teacher would visit Concord’s schools and a government official from Nanae was to meet with the local public works, fire, and police departments.  

John Cratsley, front, of the Concord Nanae Network, and others wave to the camera broadcasting proceedings in Nanae, Japan during a signing ceremony at the Town House. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge
Henry Dane, center, chair of the Select Board, prepares to sign the renewal of Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae, Japan, as Minoya Suguru, left, Deputy Consul General of the Japan consulate in Boston, and Masaki Niwata, the Nanae Town Official look on, during a signing ceremony at the Town House. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge
Concord residents and visitors from Nanae, Japan, fill the Town House for a signing ceremony renewing Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae, Sunday, October 29,. 2023. The proceedings were broadcast live in Nanae, where it was Monday morning. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge
Masaki Niwata, the Nanae Town Official, left, Minoya Suguru, center, Deputy Consul General of the Japan consulate in Boston and Henry Dane, right, chair of the Select Board, raise a toast after the renewal of Concord’s sister city affiliation with Nanae, Japan. Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge