HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – If there is one thing you could say about Sakai town, Japan, it would be it’s the little town that could.

This past November, this rural community north of Tokyo hosted an international sporting event. It brought athletes from around the globe for the World Skate Scootering and Roller Freestyle World Championships. The event was watched in many different countries, putting Sakai town on the map due to the efforts of Sakai town Mayor Masahiro Hashimoto, who has made it his mission to market this town to Hawaii and the world.

“I met World Skate President Sabatino Aracu in February, and at that time he immediately accepted my request to host Ibaraki Sakai Urban Sports Fest in Sakai town,” Hashimoto said.

There are other amazing operations in Sakai Town that are credited to Hashimoto’s progressive approach. He recently brought a driverless city bus system online, which, by all accounts, is running smoothly.

“We monitor the road with 18 different cameras at 11 different locations, all at the same time. So far, we haven’t had any major accidents, just a few minor incidents,” said transportation official Ayaka Habe.

Currently, there is actually someone onboard the vehicle just in case something happens, but the eventual goal is for it to be driverless in the near future.

If you are a foodie, you will find extraordinary cuisine in Sakai. For instance, the W Sakai Teppan by Wolfgang Zwiener. Like the Wolfgang Restaurants in Hawaii, the food here is simply outstanding. What is different from other fine dining places in Japan, Wolfgang’s serves something distinctly from the West.

“This is dried-aged American black angus beef, which Wolfgang signed a contract with a meat shop in New York City,” says head Chef Yasu Ueno.

Chef Ueno explains Wolgang’s original teppanyaki restaurant is here in Sakai Town. He says Black Angus beef is much leaner than Waygu and since they use olive oil to cook, it’s also a healthier choice over the butter that most Wagyu restaurants cook with.

If you are looking for a home-cooked meal featuring tonkatsu, Sakai town’s Bando-Taro is definitely ichiban, or number one for this.

“Although no one can replace a good home-cooked meal by mom, we try to do our best to serve a meal that is close to what your mom makes in her kitchen,” said restaurant owner Youji Aoya.

His “home-cooked meals by mom” concept has proven to be successful since there are more than 80 Bando Taro restaurants in Japan serving meals to content customers in Sakai town and beyond.

So the next time you plan on visiting the land of the rising sun, you may want to drive a bit north and stop by this progressive little community that’s a mix of country and city living in one place.