Funabashi and Hayward marked a seven-year Sister City anniversary on November 7, 1993, with a monument symbolizing an everlasting bond of friendship. The relationship was supported by the City of Funabashi, Ichifuna High School, the Funabashi International Relation Association, the Funabashi Chamber of Commerce, the Funabashi Nishi Rotary Club, the Funabashi Chuo Lions Club, and the Funabashi Port Lions Club. In remembrance of Japan’s 1912 gift of 3000 cherry trees to the USA, the Japanese people donated a cherry tree to the citizens of Hayward. The Funabashi-Hayward Sister City affiliation was presented by Mayor Kazuo Ohashi and dedicated on April 21, 1986, to lasting friendship between the people of Funabashi, Japan, and the City of Hayward. Japanese Gardens were also established on September 7, 1980, with Hayward Area Recreation and Park District leaders, Hayward council members, and Kimio Kimura involved in landscape design and construction.