Between the 17th and 23rd of November a group of Tomakomai City Council and private citizens paid New Zealand a visit. The purpose of the visit was to honour the 45th anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Tomakomai and Napier.
The group arrived into Napier late on the 18th of November and stayed at the Te Pania Hotel. Among the visitors I had the privilege of getting acquainted with Mr and Mrs Akagawa (Tsutomu and Yuuko)(President of the Tomakomai NZ Association). I had met Mrs Akagawa before, on a previous city visit, in Napier, where I was an acting groom of a traditional Japanese wedding.
The couple opted to do separated activities (after the official visits organised by the Napier City Council and the obligatory Pan Pac visit) from the rest of the Tomakomai group, as they have visited Napier numerous times before, and Ms Kinuko Iko, of the Japan Society offered to accommodate the Akagawa’s during their two-night stay in Napier. I (Iain) acted as chaperon and drove them to various destinations. It was a good chance to catch-up and practice both languages in a relaxing manor. This opportunity was good exposure for Japan Society, as Mr Akagawa was also the president of the New Zealand Friendship Society. Some of the sites we visited were the Centennial Garden Waterfalls, the Bluff Hill look out and the Ahuriri waterfront. It was a hot day, so I treated them to ice cream in Pandora. Tomakomai people love ice cream.
After a quick clean up, we had a friendly game of Mah-jong. A popular tile game, played amongst a lot of Asian countries. Then, the four of us, Mr and Mrs Akagawa, Ms. Iko and myself proceeded to the East Pier restaurant for dinner. The view of Hawke Bay was a fitting scene to finish their last night in Napier.
