NEWS POSTED SEPTEMBER 27, 2023: Mayor Yoshitaka Chatani from our sister city, Nanao, Japan visited last weekend with a delegation of eight to celebrate 28 years of sister cityhood, and to support and enjoy the Monterey Jazz Festival. Also attending the welcome reception, Mr. Hajime Kishimori, Acting Consul General, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. As part of the sister city celebration, Dan Albert Senior was recognized for over three decades as President of the Monterey Peninsula Nanao Friendship Association (MPNFA). Dan worked tirelessly with his fellow MPNFA members - individuals, service clubs, and companies - to promote effective sister city exchanges that focus on arts and culture (both Monterey Jazz Festivals), youth and education (the highly successful Junior Wings program), business and trade (hospitality), and community development (Fisherman’s Wharf). Both Mayor Williamson and Mayor Chatani enjoyed the collaboration, discussion, and enhanced the ties that have bonded the two cities for over three decades. Thanks to the @montereyjazzfestival for the years of sister city support, and congratulations on another successful festival! #sistercity #nanao #monterey #jazz

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Quick Facts
Website: www.city.nanao.ishikawa.jp
Sister City since: 1995
Distance from Monterey: 5,274miles, 18 hrs 5min
Population City: 58,204
Population Country: 126,860,000
Climate: humid subtropical climate, hot, wet summers, cool, snowy winters
Local Time: GMT+9
Currency: Japanese yen

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About - Resolution 

The Japanese City Nanao is located in Ishikawa Prefecture. Nanao is the northern part of Ishikawa, Japan and is also largest City in the Noto Province . The City was founded on July 20, 1939 and offers several amazing views of nature. Nanao has for example several hot springs to visit or viewing cherry blossoms.

 

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Monterey and Nanao, 1995

The Monterey-Nanao relationship dates back to 1986, when a group from Nanao first visited Monterey to study the city’s economic drivers. Like Monterey, Nanao is a coastal community that repositioned itself as a tourist destination after its fishing industry diminished. Several delegations visited California in the following years, and local Rotary clubs and non-profit organizations got involved in hosting and leading presentations. By the mid-1990s, the two communities signed a formal sister city agreement and a group of volunteers came together as the Monterey Peninsula-Nanao Friendship Association to coordinate cultural and business exchanges. Since 1995, more than 700 Nanao residents have visited Monterey; some 300 professionals and youngsters from Monterey have toured Nanao. Students from Walter Colton School regularly travel to Japan through the affiliation, as do student groups associated with Rotary International and the Soroptimist’s Junior Wings program and young musicians from the Monterey Jazz Festival’s all-star bands.