Upcoming events
Yaizu at the Australian Wooden Boat Festival
The Australian Wooden Boat Festival (AWBF) is on again from 7 – 10 February 2025. In recognition of our early maritime links, City of Hobart, together with Yaizu City Hall, will showcase their sister city relationship within the Little Sailors Village of the festival.
This is located at Parliament Lawns, right next to the exciting Kumundar Gujo Project – an interactive education and creative play project, which we are also supporting.
Things to do:
- Come along and hi-five everyone's favourite Bonito Fish Yai Chan – mascot of Yaizu City.
- Meet our friends from Yaizu and check out some of the special things they have brought over to share with us, including beautiful wooden toys from their world – class Turntokuru Toy Museum.
- Sign up for the Kumundar Gujo workshop and build a jungle gym from pre-cut timber, using traditional Japanese building/ crafting skills.
- Climb aboard the giant ship shaped Kumundar jungle gym under the flag of Hobart and Yaizu city.
- Learn traditional Japanese woodwork technique and create a Kumiko or Kanna Flower.
See the full festival program on the Australian Wooden Boat Festival website.
Past events
Yurikamome Children's Choir
City of Hobart was being supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation to bring Yaizu's acclaimed Yurikamome Children's Choir to Hobart to perform.
Together with Hobart's chamber orchestra, Van Diemen Band and Hobart school students from Mount Carmel College, they performed a compellingly beautiful lunch box concert at Hobart Town Hall to more than 250 attendees.
Performers and the audience connected through the universal language of music while appreciating each other's unique musical and cultural expressions.
Yurikamome Children's Choir gallery
Yaizu student exchange 2024
City of Hobart, together with host families from Mount Carmel College and The Hutchins School welcomed 20 Yaizu students in August, as part of the yearly student exchange program.
The students attended two days of school in Hobart alongside their host brother or sister, and then participated in a 'Day in the City' program which included a Welcome to Town Hall, storytelling tour along Hobart's waterfront, lunch at Mures and a guided visit to TMAG.
Yaizu is to reciprocate this hospitality, by hosting a group of students from Mount Carmel College later in the year during their annual school trip to Japan. Many will be hosted by families of their host sister who stayed with them earlier in the year.
These exchanges support the making of invaluable life-long connects between young people from both of our cities, broadening global perspectives and cultural appreciation.
Student exchange 2024 gallery
Japanese Children's Day 2024
City of Hobart celebrated Japanese Children's Day on Saturday 5 May at the Waterside Pavilion.
The event was an absolute success, showcasing our strong community links to Yaizu and our appreciation for Japanese culture here in Hobart.
At our event children had the opportunity to dress in yukata, try their hand at calligraphy and origami, make traditional Japanese treats or playing the taiko drums. There were also performances throughout the day by the taiko drummers, samurai and ninja demonstrations and a traditional tea ceremony.
The highlight of course was our special guest Yai Chan, the adorable city mascot of Yaizu.
The national Japanese holiday 'Kodomo no hi' – Children's Day is about encouraging children to be strong and resilient and wishing them health and happiness.
Japanese Children's Day 2024 gallery
Yaizu delegation visit 2023
A delegation, led by Yaizu Mayor, Hiromichi Nakano, visited Hobart from 22 – 24 November. The delegation was welcomed to the city with a Traditional Tea Ceremony at Town Hall.
During the ceremony our dear friends gifted us something very special, our own official city mascot costume. Mayor Nakano advised that 'Yai Chan' was currently being made for us and he would be arriving in early in 2024.
The delegation visited many other places while they were here including the Tasmanian Botanical Gardens to see the Japanese Garden which was designed by a Yaizu landscape architect in the 80s. Here they shared lunch and presentations with education stakeholders to showcase their world class 'Children's Hall'. They visited students from Mount Carmel College who hosted students from Yaizu earlier in the year and toured our Youth Arc centre and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. City Officers made presentations to them on a range of topics including Governance, Community, Arts and Culture, City Economy, Bush Fire Resilience and how we approach Climate Change.
They also visited IMAS and heard about our research on kelp and urchins and then toured the facilities. They were then hosted for dinner by our Lord Mayor to conclude their official program and thank them for visiting us. On their non-official day, the group enjoyed travelling to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary to meet some furry locals.
During the visit many new areas which we could work on together were discussed and more practical exchanges of knowledge and people and business engagement was planned. Our 2024 engagement program will reflect this.
Yaizu delegation visit 2023 gallery
Yaizu student exchange 2023
After a pause during covid, we were pleased to welcome a group of students from Yaizu City back to Hobart. Students were hosted by students and their families from Mount Carmel College, Hobart College, and Sacred Heart College.
Students got to experience the city and school life while they were here and formed lifelong bonds with their hosts expanding their word views.
Exchanges between Yaizu and Hobart students have been occurring for more than 20 years with support from local high schools and colleges and it is highly regarded opportunity.
Student exchange gallery
Japanese Children's Day 2023
Japanese Children's Day celebration in 2023 involved a display of school students' hand-crafted carp streamers in the Japanese Garden at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden, a Japanese-themed drop in session at the City's Youth Arc and pop up activities at Wellington Court in the CBD.
We celebrate Japanese Children's Day in Hobart in recognition of our sister city connection with Yaizu and also the value both cities place on the wellbeing and education of our young people.
Japanese Children's Day 2023 gallery
Meeting Yaizu Mayor in Tokyo 2023
In March 2023 City of Hobart representatives joined a Premier led delegation of government, business and industry leaders to South Korea and Japan.
City of Hobart's participation centred around several of its strategic objectives including growing our global profile, fostering international partnerships to increase Hobart's Antarctic Gateway capabilities and unlocking opportunities for trade and investment at a city-to-city level, aligned to our investment attraction activities.
While in Tokyo, City of Hobart had the opportunity to spend the day meeting Yaizu's Mayor and other city officials and officers. The face-to-face meeting allowed both cities to re-familiarise themselves with each other after many years of virtual engagement imposed by the covid pandemic, re-affirm their commitment to the relationship and set the scene for a highly successful visit by Mayor Nakano later in the year.