US City Appleton in Wisconsin Welcomes Japanese Students for Cultural Immersion, Pickleball Friendlies

Pickleball’s unifying impact truly transcends boundaries.

We already saw that when China opened its borders to American students for some cultural immersion with some pickleball matches in between—even as the two countries are embroiled in what is rather an icy relationship. The exchange was so successful that the student-athletes from the US made a documentary about it, while Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his regards to them.

Now, we’re seeing the same dynamic at play between the US and Japan, two nations with good relations but with a colourful history nonetheless. Recently, 10 exchange students from Japan arrived in Appleton, Wisconsin in the US for some cultural immersion, too, along with lots of—you guessed it!—pickleball in between. What’s more, they played pickleball in Pickleball Kingdom, Appleton’s first official pickleball centre.

The US trip was part of a two-week program by the Kanonji Appleton Partnership (KAP), where students from both cities—Kanonji in Japan and Appleton in the US—can experience how it is living on the other side of the world. This program just happens to include pickleball as one of the unifying threads.

For this particular program, the US front of KAP first visited their Japanese counterparts in Kanonji last summer, when they introduced pickleball to the locals. A few months later, part two of the program continued with the 10 Japanese students making their way to Appleton. And as they got to the city, they were given paddles and balls courtesy of renowned pickleball brand Selkirk Sport.

KAP was founded in 1988 when the son of a Japanese restaurant owner in Appleton started to think of creative and impactful ways of bridging the two cities. Clearly, pickleball fits the bill, and it is no doubt exciting that it is being used to forge stronger ties and cultural exchanges.