From Marugame to San Sebastián, passing through the Olarain Garden of Friendship
At Olarain, we are passionate about being a place for people to meet, feel welcome and engage in cultural exchange. This October, we had the pleasure of experiencing this first-hand once again thanks to a visit from a delegation from the Japanese city of Marugame.
A visit to strengthen gastronomic and cultural ties
The seven-person delegation, comprising mainly culinary professionals, travelled to San Sebastián with the aim of further strengthening the gastronomic and cultural exchange between the two cities. After being received at San Sebastián City Hall, the visitors came to our Olarain hall of residence and Ekintza Ikastola, sharing a memorable day together.
During their visit to our facilities, the members of the delegation not only offered flowers at the tree commemorating Paco Marín but also left their heartfelt messages in our guest book, expressing their best wishes that the friendship and culinary cooperation between San Sebastián and Marugame may last forever.
The seed of city twinning and Paco Marín’s vision
This close relationship is no coincidence: the origins of the bond between the two cities date back to 1985, when the first group of Japanese students visited San Sebastián.
Our founder at Olarain, Paco Marín Guruceaga, who also founded the Aries Academy and co-founded Ekintza Ikastola alongside his brother Ignacio Marín Gurutzeaga, co-founder and director of Ekintza for 37 years, dedicated themselves to welcoming those young people, coordinating activities and meetings with local students.
Paco’s generosity and personal drive were the seeds that flowered into the official twinning of San Sebastián and Marugame in 1990. This tireless work towards international friendship earned Paco Marín the Kagawa Prefectural Government’s International Collaboration Award in 2020.
Ignacio Marín’s active participation in this recent visit demonstrates how the educational, family and institutional ties remain very much alive almost four decades later.
The Garden of Friendship: a corner of peace and introspection in Olarain
That bridge between cultures was physically immortalised right here in our own home. Initiated by Paco Marín as a joint project between Olarain and the Ikastola Ekintza, and designed by Jon Sáenz del Castillo, the Garden of Friendship was inaugurated in October 2016. The ceremony was attended by Paco Marín, the Mayor of Donostia, Eneko Goia, and the Mayor of Marugame, Masaharu Kaji.
Covering some 700 square metres, this space reinterprets and blends Basque artistic tradition, represented by Corten steel, with Japanese Zen aesthetics, incorporated through a pond, bonsai trees, a tea house and sakura trees.
The Friendship Garden is now a true oasis in Olarain: a place designed for unwinding, meditating or enjoying a moment of calm between hours of study and socialising. Furthermore, every spring the garden treats us to the Sakura, cherry blossom in bloom, a fleeting moment of great beauty which, in Japanese tradition, symbolises new beginnings.
Continuing to welcome our friends from Marugame is the best way to keep alive the open, curious and generous spirit that Paco Marín instilled in Olarain. Our doors will always be open to continue sharing culture and friendship!
