Concord Ambassadors are Anxious About Fate of Sister City in Japan

Members of Concord’s Ambassador program waited anxiously all morning today for word to come from their counterparts in the city’s sister city of Kitakami, Japan.

It finally came, in the form of a three-word post on Facebook: “We are fine.”

“That was the only thing we’ve heard,” said City Clerk Mary Rae Lehman, who oversees the program for the city. “Usually, after we hear of something big over there, we are able to get in contact with them almost immediately. It took hours this time, and it was only one little sentence.”

Kitakami is located about 89 miles northwest of Sendai, the city located closest to the epicenter of Friday’s monster 8.9 earthquake. Hundreds were killed in the quake and the ensuing tsunami.

Lehman said that the town is along the Kitakami River, which flows to the ocean. She said she could not tell whether the swells from the tsunami rushed up the river.

“Those are the questions we are all waiting to have answered,” she said.

The town of nearly 100,000 residents is known for its cherry blossoms in Tenshochi Park, Geto Hot Spring, the Oni museum, the Michinoku Folklore Village and the Japan Kids Festival. Concord and Kitakami have been sister cities for more than 35 years.

Every five years, the cities take turns sending a delegation to the other. The last delegation, in 2009, saw more than 30 Concord residents travel to Japan. Lehman said she is expecting about 70 residents of Kitakami to travel to Concord in 2014.

So now she and the other ambassadors will continue to wait for news. “Thank goodness for Facebook!” she said. "They got through once, I hope they can again."