Lima Sister Cities Association is celebrating a 25-year relationship with Harima-cho, Japan. To help mark the quarter century of friendship and collaboration, the organization is starting a large project to document the history of the sister city partnership. They are looking for old photos, videos, and even some short letters either from trips to Japan or from people hosting representatives of Harima-cho here in Lima. The project will not only show the cultural exchange between the two cities but also the growth of the program over the last two decades.

The Japanese Garden was a gift from Lima's Sister City Harima-Cho Japan full of weeping cherry trees. You can find the garden across the river from the Lima YMCA. It serves as a symbol of friendship between the two cities. This Saturday the sister city association is preparing a site at the park for some special pieces of art.

The Lima Sister City Association welcomes people out to enjoy the beauty of the Japanese Garden. The organization held a picnic filled with mu…

Matthew Neely is Lima Sister City President and says, “We’re having a community clean up at our sister city garden to just pull weeds and do yearly maintenance it’s all done on a volunteer basis to allow the beauty to be shown to everybody and it gives you a sense of ownership working on it.”