Welcome!

MN Sister Cities Internation Annual Conference
The Minnesota Sister Cities Annual Conference will be held May 3, at the Bloomington City Plaza. Additional information is available by clicking on this hyperlink. Booth Registration forms are also available by clicking on the indicated hyperlink.

Travel as a part of the Official Sister City High School and College Delegation
The Bloominington Sister City Organization Cordially invites you to travel to their Sister City Izumi City, Japan June 15 - June 28, 2008. The cost of the trip is $2,217 per person Application. The deadline to apply for the trip is March 28, 2008. For additional information, click on the picture below.

The Bloomington Sister City Organization (BSCO) has been offering student exchange programs between Bloomington and Izumi City, Japan, since 1994. The 2008 trip will feature high school and college students from Bloomington traveling to Izumi City, Japan for two-week cultural exchange. You are not required to be a Japanese language student. Students and chaperones will stay with host families. Prices quoted on this application are subject to change. Until the group is finalized, the cost of airfare may fluctuate. Click on this hyperlink to Download an application.

KITE DAY 2008
Bloomington Sister City Sponsors KITE DAY 2008 in celebration of Children’s Day in Japan.

Taste of Japan 2008

The 2008 Taste of Japan was held March 1 at the Civic Plaza. Go to our 'Events & Photos', and click on 'Photo Gallery' for pictures of this year's 'Taste of Japan'.

Izumi City tells of the visit to Bloomington
Izumi City made a report book for Student Delegation 2007. It can be accessed from their website at http://www.ican.zaq.nejp/izumi_iea/StudentDelegation2007.pdf or downloaded from this website by clicking on Student Delegation 2007.

Bloomington Sister City-Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
Izumi selected a marathon runner to travel to Bloomington to participate in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 7, 2007. Mr. Nobuaki Yasumatsu arrived in Bloomington on October 4 and departed October 9. He had an amazing race placing 17th overall (10,500 runners) with a time of 2:32:18.

Mr. Yasumatsu is a 29 year old member of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces (GSDF) from Izumi City, Japan. He is a member of the Osaka Association of Athletics and the GSDF Shinodayama running club.In addition to running, he also enjoys classical music, karaoke, and visiting historical sites.

During he stay in Bloomington, Mr. Yasumatsu had an opportunity to visit the Mall of America, Camp Ripley, and Fort Snelling and take a historic tour of Bloomington. A farewell BBQ picnic was held at Moir Park.
BSCO members, Gary and Nancy Van Cleve, hosted Mr. Yasumatsu. Past Senshu Marathon runners and Kodo Kawamura provided airfare. Many volunteers made the trip a great success including board members Eric Berg, Brad Gluth and Lorinda Pearson along with BSCO member Flora Tsukayama.

2008 Senshu Marathon Runners Update

BSCO is proud to announce that our two International Senshu Marathon runners completed the marathon in Izumi City, Japan on February 17th. Tom Christian (Top Photo), a business owner in Bloomington ran it in 3:20:28. Gus Virkus (Bottom Photo), a cross country coach at Jefferson High School ran it in 3:52:40. The race started with sunshine and 45 degrees, however the temperature dropped and they had wind and snow to face for about 15 miles. They returned to Minnesota February 19th. They were overwhelmed with the generosity of their host families and the City of Izumi. The trip was a very successful experience for both runners. Tom and Gus were guests of Japanese families and visited historic and contemporary sites while in Japan and were guests at a formal reception with Izumi’s mayor and city dignitaries. The invitation included round trip airfare to Osaka from Chicago or Detroit, courtesy of Japan Air Lines and hotel accommodations the day before and after the marathon. The BSCO again extends a congratulations to Tom Christian and Gus Virkus for a job well done and looks forwarding to hearing more from them.

About this Web site

This site exists to celebrate the Sister City relationship between Bloomington, Minnesota, USA, and Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. We hope we can provide visitors and BSCO members alike with useful information about the Sister City relationship.On this website, you can:

• Catch up on the latest Bloomington-Izumi Sister City news.
• Learn about upcoming events and annual events.
• Learn about the history of our relationship.
• Find out how to join BSCO, and learn about our current members.
• Find links to related websites.

Help us to improve this site

Please enjoy the site, and be sure to send your feedback and ideas about site content and functionality to sistercity@ci.bloomington.mn.us.