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On September 25, 1974, Suwa Mayor Setsuji Iwamoto, and the first Suwa sister city delegation helped to break ground at the Missouri Botanical Garden in Seiwa-en, our expanded Japanese Garden, and presented the garden with a large stone snow-viewing lantern, a yukimidoro, that is essential to the Japanese garden’s overall design. Thus began a 50 year sister city relationship between Suwa and St. Louis of fostering cultural and business ties between two great cities. Today, Suwa Japan is one of St. Louis’ oldest sister cities.
St. Louis and Suwa have collaborated as sister cities and partners over the last 50 years. They have cooperated to create one of the greatest Japanese gardens in the United States and worked together to host one of the largest Japanese festivals in the U.S. each year, operated student exchange programs and exchanged friendship, culture, arts and business in countless other ways over the years.
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