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Chitose, transportation hub for Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, became Anchorage's first sister city in 1969. Considered Japan's "Last Frontier," Hokkaido is home to Chitose International Airport which serves over 4.5 million passengers a year.
Chitose is well known for its year-round outdoor activities. Residents and visitors enjoy baseball, downhill and cross country skiing, dog mushing, freshwater trout and salmon fishing and other recreational activities. A mandatory stop on anybody’s visit is Lake Shikotsu National Park and its several vacation resort settings and mineral hot springs. Chitose hosts an annual snow festival in February and sponsors the Chitose International Marathon each July.
In 1983, a boys baseball exchange program was started which has benefited from reciprocal visits every four years. With the support of Sand Lake Elementary School’s Japanese Immersion Program and Chitose Elementary School, the two schools also began an exchange program which they wish to renew every couple of years. In Japan, the Chitose-Anchorage Friendship Association has been a strong supporter of both of these programs.
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