Portrait of Kumamoto
The close ties between Heidelberg and Kumamoto date back as far as the 1960s. The many personal and institutional contacts finally led to the signing of an official friendship treaty in 1992.
Since then there has been regular and intensive exchange in a variety of fields.
Today, the partnership between Kumamoto and Heidelberg is characterized by numerous official and private links. The mainstays of the twin-city relationship are youth exchange, exchange in the fields of medicine and sport, and the now firmly established regular content-related exchange in the form of workshops in a wide variety of fields.
In terms of size, Kumamoto is comparable to Cologne and was listed by the government as one of the 20 largest cities in Japan in 2012. As the capital of the prefecture of the same name and the third-largest city on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands, Kumamoto is known for its famous castle and its many universities.
Here you can get a small impression about the reconstruction of the city of Kumamoto after the big earthquake in 2016. This video was published by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kumamoto castle with cherry tree (picture: City of Kumamoto) 
Map of Japan marking Kumamoto 
Kumamoto castle (picture: City of Kumamoto) 
Kumamoto Suizenji garden (picture: City of Kumamoto) 
Kumamoto Honmaru Goten Palace (picture: City of Kumamoto) 
Kumamoto Honmaru Goten Palace with emebllished ceiling (picture: City of Kumamoto) 
The Heidelberg tram is driving through Kumamoto for many years now. (picture: Riemer/RNZ) 
Mayor Prof. Dr. Eckart Würzner in front of a wall that has been destroyed by the earthquake. (picture: Riemer/RNZ) 
The local council of Kumamoto. (picture: RNZ/Riemer) 
The mascot of Kumamoto called "Kumamon". (picture: RNZ/Riemer)
| Twinned with Heidelberg | 1. | since 1992 |
| Location | 2. | On Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands; Kumamoto is the capital of the prefecture of the same name and is Kyushu’s third-largest city |
| Population | 3. | about 1.778.005 (last updated: 2016) |
| Time difference | 4. | CET plus 8 hours |
| Currency | 5. | Yen |
| Official language | 6. | Japanese |
| University/ students | 7. | Kumamoto has nine universities and colleges, with a total of roughly 30,000 students, including the State University of Kumamoto and the University of Kumamoto Prefecture. |
| Key industries | 8. | Services, wholesale and retail, food retail, high-tech industry, biotechnology (the island of Kyushu is also known as Japan’s "Silicon Island") |
| Sister cities | 9. | In addition to Heidelberg there are three more sister cities: Guilin (China); San Antonio (USA); Fukui (Japan) |
