Adelaide received a visit from the Gifu Sakura No Kai (Gifu Cherry Blossoms Association) last week. Forty two members of Gifu Sakura no Kai travelled from Japan to plant cherry blossom trees as a gesture of friendship between the two cities.

Gifu Sakura No Kai was established in October 1993 to "widen the circle of cherry blossoms and beautify the earth by planting cherry blossoms trees over the world". Through its activities, the group hopes to promote a spirit of co-operation and international exchange. The organisation has planted more than 10,000 trees and has been noted by the United Nations and Ambassadors from various countries for its international activities.

Five cherry blossom trees were planted at Cathedral Plaza on the afternoon of Thursday 2nd of October. Mr Matsunami, Delegate Leader of Gifu Sakura No Kai, presented Mr McAllister, Acting Chief Executive Officer Adelaide City Council, with a commemorative plaque to be placed in Cathedral Plaza adjacent to the five cherry blossom trees.

A second tree planting ceremony was later conducted at Government House where one cherry blossom tree was planted in the gardens adjacent to the Western Lawns. The guests were addressed by His Excellency the Governor's Deputy, Mr. Bruno Krumins, AM and Mr. Kazuo Kawashima, founding President, Gifu Sakura No Kai. At the conclusion of the ceremony His Excellency invited guests to join him for refreshments in the Ballroom.

The Gifu Sakura no Kai hosted a reception at the Hyatt Regency Adelaide that evening and left the following morning to attend a similar cherry blossom tree planting ceremony at Brisbane on 4th October.

The visit by Gifu Sakura no Kai marked the culmination of two years of planning by Ms Kaoru Watanabe of Access Japan Pty Ltd. Ms Watanabe, originally from Gifu came to live in Adelaide to start her own business four years ago.

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1. Background information on Gifu Sakura no Kai [PDF document - 95KB]
2. Programme for cherry blossom planting at Cathedral Plaza [PDF document - 47KB]
3. Programme for cherry blossom planting at Government House [PDF document - 112KB]
4. Facsimile of the plaque to be placed at Cathedral Plaza [JPG format - 99KB]
   

For detailed caption information please contact Paul or Kaoru at:

Access Japan Pty Ltd ABN 15 009 187 231 PO 1195 Unley South Australia 5061 Tel: +61 8 8357 1781 Fax: +61 8 8357 1786 E-mail: info@accessjapan.com.au URL: www.accessjapan.com.au