Community Corner

Residents Ration Fuel and Food in Gilroy's Japanese Sister City

With 22 years of close relations, Gilroy residents reach out after the massive earthquake in Japan.

High in the Hakkoda Mountains and more than 100 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, Takko-Machi, Gilroy’s sister city in Japan, was spared much of the damage after a Friday morning, residents said.

There were no major injuries and only a small landslide, but the resulting shutdown of trains and roads has made it difficult to bring fuel and other supplies to the 7,000 people who live in the rural, mountain city, said Jessica Brewka, coordinator for international relations.

“Everyone’s major concern right now is conserving energy,” said Brewka, a former Morgan Hill resident reached by phone in Japan. “If the roads don’t open up, we might run into a problem later on.”

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Gilroy has participated in an active exchange program with Takko-Machi since 1988, with more than 1,000 people visiting from the “Garlic Capital of Japan” over the past 20 years, said Hugh Smith, president of the Takko Garlic International Friendship Organization in Gilroy.

“It looks so much like Gilroy,” Smith said, having twice visited the city for its annual garlic and beef festival.

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Comments on both  and Facebook began to stream in soon after the earthquake, with many asking about their loved ones and sharing their experience hosting student visitors from Takko.

"Our prayers go out to the families in Japan. We hosted a student, Ayano Watanabe, and we pray you and your family are safe," wrote Shannon Souza on the city's Facebook profile.

Even Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro expressed his concern on the profile of Keiko Sato, a longtime exchange program interpreter.

"Keiko, please give all our best as we are all thinking about all of you and your safety," wrote Pinheiro.

Yet news about the city was scarce following the quake, the largest in modern Japanese history. Electricity returned to Takko a day later, and spotty Internet and phone service cut its residents off from the outside world.

“It was the weirdest feeling, to be totally cut off from everything,” Brewka said.

Sato was able to post a brief update on her Facebook profile shortly after the earthquake, which served as the only news out of the city for more than 24 hours.

“We are ok, but don’t have electricity. No telephone. Still shaking. It’s been four hours,” she wrote.

Now, Takko, a 45-minute drive from its two nearest neighbors, is rationing resources while much of the country recovers from the disaster.

“Supplies are still available for now, but they are running low, especially gas and oil. This is especially worrisome considering that most of our heaters run on kerosene, and we continue to dip below freezing every night,” Brewka wrote on the city’s Facebook profile.

 The bullet train in Ninohe, where most Takko residents board, has been shut down since the quake. Called the Shinkansen in Japan, the train has also stopped running in Hachinohe, a coastal town suffering from tsunami damage, Brewka said.

Some roads are open, but residents are largely staying put, she said.

“We can get out of town, but there’s not much to go to,” said Brewka.

Shipments of gas have nearly ceased, and residents are sticking to a 10-litre-per-person voluntary limit on fuel until further notice, she said.

Nearly 100 aftershocks have rocked the city since Friday, Brewka said.

“They’re not little ones—I’d call them earthquakes by themselves,” Brewka said, “But compared to the big one, they’re just little tremors.”

The Japanese government issued a warning Sunday that there may be another large earthquake later in the week, she said.

The city of Gilroy released a map Friday morning showing Takko-Machi’s proximity to the earthquake and its aftershocks. The resulting tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean with enough force to  and send from Watsonville over Hecker Pass. 

“Around five in the morning, my grandma called," Watsonville evacuee Claudia Hernandez said Friday. "I really got scared. At that time, we didn't know what to do."

In Takko, members of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme plan to travel down from the mountains during their spring break next week to volunteer their help in hard-hit coastal cities like Sendai, Brewka said.

Reports of casualties are ever-changing as Japan responds to the disaster, but many have estimated that more than 10,000 died in the earthquake and the tsunami that followed.

“The initial earthquake hit us hard, but I can’t even imagine what it was like in Sendai,” said Brewka.

Meanwhile, in the U.S.,  have asked for support.

Gilroy has six sister cities around the world, but Smith said that Takko-Machi is by far the most active. Its local reputation as a garlic producer, as well as the scenery, inspired the relationship.

“The people could not be friendlier,” said Smith.


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