SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIP
In recognition of the link, Matsudo has named a shopping centre - Boxhill and established a sister city corner with a permanent exhibition space at the Culture Hall. The City Tree is the euaclypt and reminders of Australia are evident in Matsudo (including koala imprints on storm drain covers!)
For further information about the sister city link, visit Whitehorse City Council's homepage. For information about Matsudo, visit their homepage.
August 1985 - Two Guide Leaders visited Matsudo as part of the first Scout visit.
April 1986 - A group of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts visited Box Hill from the City of Matsudo. They were hosted by scouting and guiding families in Box Hill.
April 1989 - A group of Girl Guides from the Box Hill Division visited the City of Matsudo and were hosted by Girl Scout families. Sightseeing included Mt Fuji and Hakone, Disneyland and Tokyo. It was decided that visits would be held every two years.
April 1992 (one year late as the exchange planned for 1991 was postponed due to the Gulf War crisis) - A group of Girl Scouts visited Box Hill and were hosted by local Guide families. Activities organised included Sovereign Hill, the penguins at Phillip Island and Melbourne sights.
April 1994 - Another visit by Guides from Box Hill to Matsudo, where they were hosted by local families and participated in a range of activities including visits to Disneyland, Nikko and the local historical village. Some girls also visited local schools with their host sisters.
March 1996 - A group of 24 girls and leaders visited Box Hill Division and stayed with local Guiding families. A small reception was held at the Matsudo Room (Box Hill Town Hall) and trips included a boat ride along the Yarra, Sovereign Hill, Healesville Sanctuary and Phillip Island.
The girls were hosted by local Girl Scout families and experienced sleeping on the floor (traditional Japanese style), eating Japanese food (although McDonalds was a popular place when out in Tokyo!) and even visited school with their host sisters.
The program that was organised was very busy but gave us the chance to see many different aspects of Japanese life, culture and scenery.
Activities included:
* welcome and farewell parties (many tears were shed at the latter!)
* visited Tokyo Disneyland (many girls managed to go on every ride possible)
* sightseeing visits to Tokyo (including the monorail, Tokyo Tower, Asakusa Temple and market, boat ride on the harbour)
* overnight stay at Yoyogi Olympic Centre (originally built for the Tokyo Olympics)
* trip to Kamakura where we saw the Giant Buddha and several other temples
* visit to Girl Scout Headquarters
* shopping
* visit to a Sumo Wrestling training centre
* outdoor field days with the Girl and Boy Scouts
* visits to local schools and child care centres
* a visit to the Matsudo Museum where the girls tried traditional weaving
* a trip to the Boxhill Shopping Centre and the Century 2000 Cultural Centre
* a reception with the Matsudo Mayor, Mr Masao
After 11 days, the girls and leaders arrived home exhausted but excited after their wonderful stay in Matsudo. It gives local girls the opportunity to represent the Guide Movement overseas and experience the true friendship of Guiding and Scouting.
The next visit is planned for March 2000 when it is anticipated that a group of about 25 will visit from Matsudo. Planning is to begin shortly and activities, functions and sight seeing will be arranged. It will no doubt be another fun filled week with many lifelong friendships being made and renewed!