The Sister Cities Advisory Committee supports the Idaho Falls community’s awareness of and participation in the cultural understandings made possible by the Sister Cities program; the development of economic relationships and specific joint projects; cultivation of long-term personal relationships and friendships among people in both communities.

A sister city is a long-term relationship between two communities and two countries that inherently involves a unique kind of partnership and involvement of the three main sectors of a vibrant, productive community: local government; business; and private voluntary sectors (civil society or non-profit organizations and individual citizen volunteers).

The Idaho Falls-Tokai Mura Sister Cities program was established in 1981 and over the years, we have participated in an exchange of ideas, people and materials with our sister city. The town is really called Tokai. The “mura” on the end refers to the world village, so when you say Tokai-mura, you are really saying Tokai-Village.

 Tokai and Idaho Falls are sister cities because they share a variety of similar traits.For example, Tokai grows sweet potatoes and Idaho is known for growing potatoes. Additionally, Tokai, as the birthplace of Japan’s peaceful uses of nuclear energy, possesses a number of facilities for nuclear energy and utilization, and is a Mecca for Japan’s nuclear energy. Tokai has a population of around 40,000 and is located about 110km northeast of Tokyo in Ibaraki prefecture.

 Idaho Falls Sister Cities is an organization dedicated to furthering the intercultural understanding between citizens of the United States and the citizens of Japan. As a part of this, youth and adult delegations travel to Tokai in alternating years and host delegations from Tokai during the years that they do not travel abroad. The exchanges were suspended due to the pandemic but resumed in 2023, with a youth delegation from Idaho Falls visiting Tokai in the summer and an adult delegation from Tokai visiting Idaho Falls in early-fall.

The Idaho Falls Japanese Friendship Garden was developed to celebrate thirty years of associating with our sister city and to encourage friendship with people throughout the world. Located on W Broadway next to KeyBank, it contains stone paths, pagodas, Japanese fencings, and a pavilion with a direct view of the falls. The many features in the garden have been built by volunteers who have donated countless hours of their time to these projects and maintaining the garden.

 Displays and a koi fish pond dedicated to Tokai and our past exchanges can be seen at the Idaho Falls Public Library located at 547 West Broadway.

Agendas & Minutes

You can find the latest agenda and minutes in the Agenda Center. 

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

Sister City Advisory Committee Members

• Amanda Logan
• Cindy Ozaki
• Laura Combs
• Lisa Armstrong
• Chloe Doucette
• Rae Moss
• Stephanie Van Ausdeln

Sister City Committee Ordinance

View the Sister City Committee Ordinance