Sister city revival wanted

Nagaizumi Sister City Friendship Centre manager Yumi Mizuno with sister city group member Noel Irving. Photo/Rae Cliffe

Wanganui's Nagaizumi Sister City Friendship Centre is looking to reinvigorate its membership.

It is also hopeful a delegation from Wanganui will soon visit the city of about 40,000 people that has been linked with Wanganui for several decades.

Wanganui Sister City Association former chairman Noel Irving suggested that a visit by Mayor Annette Main and council chief executive Kevin Ross for the Wakuwaku summer festival in the city would be an ideal time for more people to join the group.

The last visit by a Wanganui mayor to the Japanese city was by the late Chas Poynter.

Mr Irving, a member of the sister city group for 25 years, says it will be good to see a group go or for people to go privately.

Mr Irving and centre manager Yumi Mizuno said they were pleased to see a cross-section of people attend the Nagaizumi garden party in March and hoped that was the start of the reinvigoration of the centre's membership.

Mrs Mizuno holds a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the Nagaizumi Sister City Friendship Centre tea house, which is open by appointment.

"This gives people the opportunity to have a Japanese experience and to see the Japanese culture and dolls," Mrs Mizuno said.

Mr Irving added: "This is the real deal. It is the only Japanese tea house in the country built by a Japanese craftsman, where people can come locally for the experience." The tea house in Duncan St was built by a craftsman who came to Wanganui with his family and assistants, and spent a month building it with materials brought out from Japan.

In 1988, Mr Poynter contacted the Japanese Government and in October 1991 the Friendship Centre and Japanese tea house was opened.

Mr Irving said the sister city group previously met monthly in the council chambers and when Japanese visitors came to Wanganui the members would billet them or show them the sights.

The Wanganui centre is owned by the Nagaizumi city government, which pays for its upkeep and rates.

For more information contact Noel Irving at irvingwangnz@msn.com. To visit the centre, call manager Yumi Mizuno on 343 1945 or email nagaizumi@xtra.co.nz.