Hollister
– Kato City resident Sadao Dohi said he first visited Hollister
in 2006 and has come to think of it as
”
my second hometown.
”
He would return to Hollister again partially to purchase another
bottle of local wine.
Hollister – Kato City resident Sadao Dohi said he first visited Hollister in 2006 and has come to think of it as “my second hometown.” He would return to Hollister again partially to purchase another bottle of local wine.
“It was very tasty,” he said.
Twenty-nine visitors from Japan had a chance Saturday to sample San Benito County’s charm, hospitality and wine.
The Hollister Sister City Association brings a delegation to the area every year. In previous years, the delegation remained for an entire week, but this year’s itinerary was packed into a single day.
The first stop was Pietra Santa Winery, where visitors toured the wine-making facilities, sampled the wares and were treated to lunch.
Pietra Santa retail manager Edward Moakler Jr. led the tour. As he explained the workings of the winery’s fermenting tanks, barrel room and olive oil press, Kato City resident Yuko Kinugasa translated for the visitors who didn’t speak English.
Kinugasa only stumbled when she had to whip out her pen and convert English temperatures and lengths to the metric system.
Moakler told the Free Lance that this was his first translated tour, and he admitted to being a little disconcerted by the delay before the audience laughed at his jokes.
“I wasn’t sure which jokes would translate,” he said.
Hollister’s first sister city was Takino, which eventually merged with two other towns to become Kato City. As a result of the merger, Kato City has three sister cities, and the delegation’s one-week visit now encompasses Hollister and two towns in Washington – Chelan and Olympia.
Hollister resident Carol Johnson, whose son Jeremiah is an assistant English teacher at Takino Junior High School, has been hosting sister city delegates since the program began in 1989. She has become close friends with one of her first guests.
After the organized events, Johnson planned to take her visitors to San Juan Bautista to visit the mission and dine at the Cutting Horse restaurant.
“Of course, we wish they could stay longer,” she said.
Johnson has visited Takino, and she said she’s not worried that Hollister might be overshadowed by the other sister cities.
“Nah, we’re the best,” Johnson said. “Takino was so much like Hollister. Everyone was so friendly.”
Kinugasa agreed there’s something special about the area.
“We feel right at home,” she said. “Even though we don’t know each other yet, they treat us like family. It’s not like visiting a big city.”
