Dear all,
Due to COVID-19, all Lomita Sister City events have been postponed or cancelled until further notice. Our exchanges for 2021 is also postponed. We hope that we will be able to resume in the later half of 2021 as we plan in celebrating 40 years of exchange with our Sister City in Takaishi.

As more information is released we will keep you posted.

About Us

Round globe logo for Lomita Sister CityThe Lomita Sister City Association (LSCA) is a non-profit organization that chose Takaishi, Japan as its Sister City in 1981. Every other year since it began, the Association has sent approximately eight deserving students and one chaperone to Japan for two to three weeks. On alternate years, we host students from Takaishi.

The exchange gives them the opportunity for growth – culturally, socially and academically. The interactions and home-stays have provided them with the insight that, while we have many cultural differences, we share many more similarities. It is heart-warming to see the close and lasting relationships that are formed over such a short period of time.

Outline map of Japan cities with Takaishi, Osaka Japan highlighted

Our Mission

The Lomita Sister City Association was created to strengthen relations between Lomita, California and Takaishi, Osaka Japan.

Our hope is to promote a cultural understanding and cultivate students who come back with a new, diverse outlook about the world we live in while gaining tolerance, social skills, and a new found independence.

Get Involved

How to Join

Membership Applications may be downloaded here or you may pick up an application at Lomita City Hall. Anyone is eligible to become a member. Please print and mail the completed form to:

LOMITA SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 1048,
LOMITA, CA 90717
ATTN: MEMBERSHIPS

Meetings

Our general meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 7pm – Lomita City Hall. Please come and join us if you would like to know more about us and become involved in your community. There are no meetings in December.

For any changes in the meeting time, we will try to update the events section.

Get in touch with us…

How You Can Support LSCA

There are many ways you can show support for us without doing too much. You can simply help by doing your regular grocery shopping at Ralph’s & Food4Less. Ralph’s & Food4Less has a community contribution program and will reward us on a quarterly basis for a small percentage of the amount of your purchases. Every purchase will be credit towards our organization. Get your family and friend involved to help the growth our earnings. The more you shop, the more we earn! We thank you for shopping at these places in advance!

How to sign up:

  • Obtain a rewards card from Ralph’s & Food4Less.
  • Go online here and create a login for your rewards card.
  • Then look under Community Programs and find the organization “Lomita Sister City” and click on us to start supporting our program!
  • It will go into effect 72hrs after you have registered.

**The term ends every August 31st you and must renew your community program group every September 1st.

Any ink/toner cartridges from your printer, copier, fax machine, etc. can be recycled. Just bring in your cartridges to Lomita City Hall, or our meetings, and we will recycle them. Our association will then be given rebates for them from the recycling firm. While HP cartridges may earn the most rebate, we will gladly take any cartridge! Ask your family and friends too!

Cars 4 Causes® originates out of a desire to help fund youth education. Along the road to achieving this one charitable goal, we thought it would be a good idea to allow our donors to direct a portion of their net donation proceeds to the youth oriented charity of their choice, this sharing the giving process directly with out donors. This proved to be a popular idea, so much so that donors submitted requests to share proceeds with all sorts of charitable organizations, schools, and religious organizations supporting all sorts of causes that were near and dear to their hearts. We agreed and donors began to refer to Cars 4 Causes ® as “The Charity that Gives to Charities.” ® To date, we’ve shared net proceeds from over 200,000 vehicle donations with more than 16,500 non-profit organizations throughout the United States that support all sorts of wonderful and essential causes. Proudly we have become an important part of a wonderful community of charities and the people who make them possible.

To donate, please click here and look at the ‘Charities’ tab under the ‘Supported Charities Directory’ to find the ‘Lomita Sister City Association (LSCA)’ to make a donation that will benefit our Association.

Exchange Program

Requirements:

  • A student
  • At least 15-22 years of age (at the time of application)
  • Interested in learning about Japanese customs, culture, and language
  • A legal U.S. resident
  • Live, work, or perform community service in Lomita
  • Must have a “C” average. (2.0 GPA)
  • Willing to participate in ALL LSCA activities and become a member
  • Must commit to being a host family

Bi-Annual Exchange to Japan

Student exchanges are offered on even-numbered years. On odd-numbered years we welcome and host 8-9 students and their chaperon from our sister city in Takaishi, Osaka Japan. The next available student trip will be held in the Summer of 2020.  Applications are now available at Lomita City Hall, or can be downloaded here.

Deadline has been extended through April 3rd, 2020.

Please note that due to the COVID-19, the 2020 Summer Exchange has been cancelled.

Preparing For Exchange

Once you have been selected to be an ambassador to represent Lomita in Japan, we will provide orientations so the selected students will be able to get to know one another. These orientations will also include needed information about your stay with a Host Family while in Japan, such as what to bring and the customs and cultures you may be exposed to. While in Japan, your group will be required to put on a performance for the City of Takaishi, these orientations will also involve the planning, learning and practicing of this required performance to show our appreciation to them for their welcome into their homes and culture.

Experience in Japan

What you will do and experience in Japan differs from trip to trip. However, you will visit the many temples and shrines, other Takaishi City local offices and surroundings, such as their public works departments. Many friendships and lifelong bonds can be built from this exchange.

Some examples from previous years include:

View of Kinkaku-ji ( 金閣寺 ), is a Bhuddist temple in Kyoto, Japan on water front.

Kinkaku-ji ( 金閣寺 ), is a Bhuddist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is known as the Golden Temple or Golden Pavillion because it is covered in pure gold leaf.

Image of spotted deer in Nara with water front in background.

The deer in Nara are a popular attraction. The deer are people friendly and so you can feed them, pet them, and take pictures with them! If you are lucky you might even get a great selfie with them!

View of walkway with orange pillars lining sidewalk

The Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine ( 伏見稲荷大社) is known for it’s miles of torii arches and makes for some beautiful, striking pictures that just make you think of traditional Japan.

Image of Glico Man, a famous sight in Namba, an entertainment district in Osaka.

The Glico Man is a famous sight in Namba, an entertainment district in Osaka. It is a simple train ride away from Takaishi. Namba shows the modern side of Japan and is a great way to get the whole experience of what the country has to offer.

Events

Due to COVID-19, all Lomita Sister City events have been postponed or cancelled until further notice. Our exchanges for 2021 is also postponed. We hope that we will be able to resume in the later half of 2021 as we plan in celebrating 40 years of exchange with our Sister City in Takaishi.

Photo Gallery