Thirty-seven Hamurodai High School students from Rotorua's Japanese sister city of Beppu are to be officially welcomed to the city by Mayor Steve Chadwick.
Mrs Chadwick will host an afternoon tea reception for the group at the council Civic Centre at 1pm on Thursday.
Mrs Chadwick said there was a long-standing tradition of school exchanges between Beppu and Rotorua and she was looking forward to welcoming the students.
"Annual exchanges between young people of our two communities are a foundation of our sister city relationship.
"Sharing our cultures and our customs with people from other countries open our students' eyes to the global village we live in.