Motueka has bid kon'nichiwa and sayonara to a visiting group from Kiyosato, as the long-running friendship between the two communities continues to flourish.
The group, from Motueka's sister town in the northern part of Hokuto City in Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture, spent four days in Motueka last week.
The 10 students and six adults visited the Kiyosato Gardens and the Motueka Sunday Market, before heading into Abel Tasman National Park with Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle. During the trip they enjoyed sports activities on Anchorage Beach.
The visitors also spent an afternoon exploring the district and sharing a traditional meal with a local host family.
Visits to Motueka High School and Lower Moutere School gave the students an opportunity to experience sport, art and dance, as well as take part in a pōwhiri.
Motueka-Kiyosato Friendship Committee member Emily Robinson says both schools were "warmly welcoming" to the visiting students.
Groups from Kiyosato have been visiting Motueka since the early 1990s, and Emily says a Motueka contingent aims to visit Japan every two years.
A new group is already forming with plans to travel to Kiyosato in October 2027, continuing the enduring exchange between the two sister communities.
