Iwaki City is located at the southeastern end of Fukushima Prefecture, and it borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the east. Iwaki City is a core city with a population of approximately 320,000 and has an area of approximately 1,232square kilometers, about twice the size of Tokyo’s 23 wards. It is easily accessible from Tokyo and takes around 2 hours by car.
Since warm and cold currents meet off the coast of Iwaki, the climate is comfortable and stable, and there is not much of a difference in temperature between winter and summer. It is known as an excellent fishing ground for delicious and nutritious fish, and the marine products caught in Iwaki are called “Jobanmono” and highly valued.
The vast city area has an international trading port, Onahama Port, and Iwaki City is rich in tourism resources such as Japan’s leading aquarium “Aquamarine Fukushima”, hot spring resort “Spa Resort Hawaiians”, and national treasure “Shiramizu Amida-do Hall”. Among them, Shiramizu Amida-do Hall is designated as the only National Treasure Building in Fukushima Prefecture. Its beautiful roof and garden have a solemn atmosphere and showcases the beauty of each season.
Iwaki City formed a sister city affiliation with Townsville in Queensland, Australia in 1991. Since then, the two cities have continued exchanges in not only sending and receiving official delegations on the anniversary, but also in a wide range of fields, including municipality, culture, and sports.
Firstly, in terms of youth exchanges, mutual exchanges between high school students from both cities have been carried out with the aim of fostering friendly relations and developing young people with an international perspective. However, after 2020 the project has been postponed due to the pandemic.
Secondly, in terms of exchange through sports, since 2012, both cities have sent and hosted top athletes for marathons. Most recently, Iwaki City has just accepted two athletes from Townsville for the Iwaki Sunshine Marathon in February 2023 and also plans to send two athletes to participate in the Townsville Marathon in August 2023.
In 2026, the two cities will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the international sister city relationship.
In order to share the joy of welcoming this milestone year, Iwaki City will strive to realise fruitful exchange projects based on the exchanges that have accumulated so far, and further develop their friendship.
