CITY FOCUS:Denso pulls ahead to win 12-6

From the crack of a bat to the pluck of traditional Japanese koto, Huntington Beach has seen a week of cultural exchange like few others. And as the 25th anniversary of its sister city status with Anjo, Japan rolled around, it came at an auspicious time.

It began Thursday, with the U.S.A. All-Stars fast-pitch softball team facing the Japanese Denso corporation’s pro team, which trains in Anjo. After teams traded runs for a few innings, Denso pulled ahead to win 12-6.

City community services Director Jim Engle said the game far exceeded expectations. Spectators spilled out of the grandstands, set up to accommodate merely 1,000 people, and spread out to watch wherever they could.

“It was a phenomenal game, very entertaining from the perspective of watching a softball game,” he said. “The interaction between young softball players and all-stars was great, and the kids just totally enjoyed it.”

Then on Monday the City Council welcomed a 25-member delegation from Anjo — one for each year of the cities’ relationship — along with exchange students from Anjo and Huntington Beach’s other sister city, Waitakere, New Zealand.

Anjo city treasurer Toshiaki Omi presented gifts to the city, including a glass plate with an image of Mt. Fuji, a topiary shaped like a rooster, and a ceramic tea brewing set, while Mayor Gil Coerper returned the favor with a replica of a Woody beach cruiser and surfboard. An ensemble of musicians played traditional Japanese melodies and even Mozart on the koto, a plucked string instrument, to thunderous applause. And the mayor presented gift bags to exchange students from both cities.

Though exchange students’ biggest exposure was Wednesday, when they traditionally ride in a fire truck in the Fourth of July Parade, their stay in the U.S. lasts another week or so. But Sister City Assn. of Huntington Beach President Carmen Erber says her favorite part may be when everyone gets home.

“It’s really rewarding when the students come back and say what it means to them,” she said. “They get more than a tourist ever would.”