JETAA South Chair Ella Donaldson on Working with Sister City Friendship Associations

After an experience like working in Japan on the JET Programme, people who return to the UK once their time has ended can often find themselves looking for a way to stay connected to their placements. Having spent two years in my placement getting to know the city and the locals of Japan’s hot spring capital, Beppu, I wanted to be able to continue supporting the relationship between Japan and the UK in a more personal way once I returned home.

During my time working at Beppu City Hall as a CIR, I was involved in events organised by my office in collaboration with a friendship association back home - the Bath Beppu Friendship Association (BBFA), which was created in 1994 to strengthen ties between Beppu and its UK sister city, Bath.
The goals of the association are to promote friendship between the residents of both cities, as well as supporting organisations and businesses who have links to one or both areas.

While on JET, I met some of the association’s members, did the English MC-ing for some exchange events, and helped the association with an emakimono (picture scroll) exchange project between schools in Beppu and Bath. I also had the pleasant surprise of being asked to model a kimono for a fashion show one Japanese member’s family kimono business was taking part in - you never know what kind of opportunities will open up from meeting as many people as you can!

Last year I attended the BBFA’s Annual General Meeting and have since become a member of their committee, helping them with their website and advertising. Being part of their committee links up especially well with my work as chair for JETAA UK’s South Chapter, as Bath is part of the region my chapter covers, so by promoting the BBFA’s events I’m not only helping to spread the word about their association, but also sharing information about local events in the South to JETAA members and keeping up to date on things happening in the area.

In the last year, the BBFA has hosted a visit from the mayor of Beppu, arranged for the mayor of Bath and a small delegation of members to visit Beppu for the 30th anniversary of the sister city agreement being signed by the two cities, held monthly language exchange evenings, liaised with local organisations to hold Japanese film screenings, and hosted visits from university students, high school students, and junior high school students living in Beppu.

The BBFA are currently engaged in planning Beppu Tour 2025: a collaborative event in which 33 youth rugby players from Bath will travel out to Beppu next February to mark the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship with a wonderful cultural exchange through sport.
Find out more about the project and how to support their fundraising efforts on the Bath Rugby Foundation website.

You can also find out more about the Bath Beppu Friendship Association and their events by joining their Facebook group!

But Bath isn’t the only UK city to have a sister city in Japan!
As of April 2024, there are 18 Japanese cities with partnerships in the UK, which can be seen on the Japan Local Government Centre’s website!

Why not see if there’s one near you?