Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Visit marks 30th anniversary of Rotorua sister city relationship with Beppu

Rotorua Daily Post
16 Jun, 2017 04:51 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A Beppu delegation was officially welcomed to Rotorua today. Photo/Supplied
A Beppu delegation was officially welcomed to Rotorua today. Photo/Supplied

A Beppu delegation was officially welcomed to Rotorua today. Photo/Supplied

A Beppu delegation officially welcomed to Rotorua today is studying how a major rugby game is hosted in preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Rotorua Lakes Council held a pohiri this afternoon to welcome members of its sister city of Beppu, from the southern island of Kyushu, Japan.

The visit marks the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship.

"We're very pleased to welcome Beppu deputy mayor Shinsuke Inomata and his group of Beppu council staff and chamber of commerce members to our city," Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said.

"It's a very special visit with this year marking 30 years since our two cities forged a relationship in 1987, and they're keen to see how we host big events here as they prepare to be hosts during the 2019 Rugby World Cup."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The delegation is in Rotorua during the weekend and has various engagements planned.

"The sister city relationship is important not just for council but for the Rotorua District," Mrs Chadwick said.

"While they're here to mark the 30th anniversary, the delegation will also take the opportunity to meet other local organisations they could forge ongoing relationships with for mutual benefit, including Te Puia and QE Hospital.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There are also obvious benefits in terms of tourism - the relationship helps to encourage more people from Beppu to come to New Zealand and to include Rotorua on their itineraries.

"We get many visitors from Beppu here - next week we welcome Shosei High School, which is here on an exchange visit."

Some of the delegation that arrived today will attend the Maori All Blacks-British and Irish Lions clash tomorrow night while others will enjoy the game from the Official Fan Zone at the Energy Events Centre.

"It will give the delegation an opportunity to see how Rotorua caters to an influx of thousands of visitors," Mrs Chadwick said.

"They'll get an insight into the various considerations a major event requires, including co-ordinating volunteers, working with accommodation and hospitality providers, and organising supporting events to add to the visitor experience and help activate and involve the local community."

The Beppu delegation will attend a number of Lion-Maori All Blacks events and will use these opportunities to promote their city and the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

They will be at the Guinness World Record haka record attempt and will have a display at the iSite.

"They've used local businesses to produce the collateral they'll be handing out while in Rotorua so that's been a small added benefit of this visit," she said.

"They'll also take in some tourist attractions which they'll be able to talk about when they go back to Beppu."

Rugby representatives are also expected to meet the delegation while they are in Rotorua.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Te Puia is hosting a dinner in partnership with Auckland's Japanese Consulate Office tonight which Te Puia chief executive Tim Cossar said was part of maintaining long-established relationships in Japan.

"From a tourism point of view Japan is a reasonable part of our market so it makes sense to take these opportunities to solidify those existing relationships," Mr Cossar said.

"For us this visit is also about building relationships which will be critical to the success of our Tuku Iho exhibition which will be touring in Japan in 2019."

Other engagements for the delegation include a talk by delegation member Associate Professor Toyoki Maeda of Kyushu University who will lead a presentation on a potential cultural exchange.

The visitors will also take in Hells Gate and the Redwoods Tree Walk on Sunday before leaving Rotorua.

Speaking through a translator, Mr Inomata said the sister city relationship with Rotorua was important to Beppu and was a natural fit, given the geothermal resources and which were a feature of both cities.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There are many similarities between our cities and it is important to share our stories and learn from each other."

The deputy mayor said, through the opportunities created by having a sister city relationship, his city had made wide-ranging connections with Rotorua's education, tourism and business sectors.

Mr Inomata is looking forward to watching tomorrow's Maori All Blacks-British and Irish Lions clash.

He said he was a big rugby fan, having played as a high school student and in the late 1980s watching Japan take on the All Blacks.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Sport

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Armed police cordon off Hamilton street after serious firearms incident
New Zealand

Armed police cordon off Hamilton street after serious firearms incident

09 Jul 11:42 AM
Red Bull parts ways with longtime F1 boss Christian Horner
Formula 1

Red Bull parts ways with longtime F1 boss Christian Horner

09 Jul 10:00 AM
Against the odds: Maroons triumph in epic State of Origin decider
Rugby League

Against the odds: Maroons triumph in epic State of Origin decider

09 Jul 09:30 AM
Jacinda Ardern says she'll provide evidence to Covid Royal Commission
Politics

Jacinda Ardern says she'll provide evidence to Covid Royal Commission

09 Jul 08:35 AM
Lotto numbers revealed in giant $10m Powerball draw
New Zealand

Lotto numbers revealed in giant $10m Powerball draw

09 Jul 08:32 AM

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Whakarewarewa dominated Te Puna with a 57-10 win in Rotorua.

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

08 Jul 10:50 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search