2022 "Meet Our Friendship Cities in Taoyuan" Exhibition: Kumamoto, Japan

Over the past seven years, Taoyuan City has continued to strengthen its international exchanges, raise its international visibility, and gradually enhance the international perspective of the public and private sectors to create business opportunities. To date, it has forged alliances with 33 cities around the world, laying a solid foundation for city diplomacy. In addition to sharing governance expertise, it also maintains ties through various exchange activities.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, international cities have only been able to communicate with each other online through video conferencing. The "Meet Our Friendship Cities in Taoyuan" Exhibition had participation from 14 sister cities and friendly cities from five countries in Asia, the Americas and Europe. Commemorative gifts and wonderful products from various countries were on display, enabling visitors to the Taoyuan exhibition to enjoy a taste of cities overseas and feel the glow of warmth and friendship from afar.

Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the southwest of Kyushu. Unmissable attractions include Japan's national park Mount Aso, with one of the world’s largest calderas, Amakusa, a group of about 120 islands floating in the sea, and the rebuilt Kumamoto Castle. Take a trip to Kumamoto on the Kyushu Shinkansen and experience its rich culture and natural beauty.

The first step in the exchange between Taoyuan City and Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan was taken in January 2022. Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan and Governor Kabashima Ikuo of Kumamoto Prefecture met online for the first time, and Kumamoto's famous mascot Kumamon also witnessed the exchange between the two leaders together with Tao & Yuango, the mascots of Taoyuan.

The pottery containers are modeled after the SL Hitoyoshi steam-hauled train, the Kawasemi sightseeing train, and the A-Train express, all of which travel through Kumamoto Prefecture. The rice wine inside was made from rice grown in Kumamoto.

The kijiguruma (pheasant on wheels) is a traditional handicraft of Kumamoto Prefecture, an auspicious wooden toy used to pray that children grow up safe. It has long been popular among the people of Kumamoto and is mainly produced in the Kuma area.

The Yamaga lantern, a traditional craft of Kumamoto Prefecture, is made only of Japanese paper and glue, without any wood or metal. Kumamoto's famous Sennin Toro Odori features 1,000 dancers carrying such lanterns on their heads while they perform a traditional dance.

The isshochi mage is a traditional Kumamoto craft made by bending thin slices of Kuma cypress into oval shapes and gluing them to a piece of cherry bark. In ancient times, these were offered to the castle owner.

Grown in the Yatsushiro area, the banpeiyu is a specialty of Kumamoto Prefecture and the world's largest citrus. The mat is a tatami made of soft rush also grown in the Yatsushiro area.

In the wake of the April 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, Eiichiro Oda, famous manga artist and creator of the series ONE PIECE, promised that he would help reconstruct his home prefecture, and this marked the beginning of the ONE PIECE Kumamoto Revival Project.