The town of Shichigahama, the smallest town in the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions, drew up its 'Town Development Plan for the 21st Century' in 1986. The main plan was the 'Kokusaimura Development Plan', which called for the construction of a base for international exchange and cultural creation, and the founding of a sister city agreement with the town of Plymouth (USA) in 1990 gave impetus to this plan.At the time, the town had a population of approximately 20,000. While the town was being developed into a residential area as a bedroom town for the city of Sendai, there was also a need for a place for the largley fishing-industry based community to exchange with the newcomers to the town.