On Saturday, 24 October, the Canberra Nara Candle Festival was held in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The festival has been held since 2003 to celebrate the sister city relationship between Canberra and Nara City. In the evening, approximately 2,000 candles were lit to symbolise the friendship between the two cities, creating a magical sight for visitors to enjoy.
CLAIR Sydney exhibited at the event, showcasing the diverse attractions of regions across Japan. We also supported students from Nara University High School, who took part in the festival as part of their sister city exchange program and promoted Nara City to visitors.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Japan and Australia, also known as the Nara Treaty. Through conversations with visitors, who shared their memories of travelling to Japan, we were reminded of the strong affinity that people in Australia have for Japan.
We were also particularly impressed by the Nara students’ enthusiasm in actively communicating with visitors in English. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the younger generation actively engaging in international exchange and helping to carry the friendship between the two cities into the future.
CLAIR Sydney will continue to promote the diverse appeal of Japan’s regions through participation in events like these, while supporting the activities of Japanese local governments in Australia and New Zealand.
CLAIR Sydney recently attended the JETAA Oceania Conference held in Auckland, New Zealand. The conference is organised annually by the JET Alumni Association (JETAA) from across Australia and New Zealand and provides a valuable opportunity for alumni leaders and stakeholders to connect, exchange ideas, and strengthen regional networks.
Ahead of the conference, a welcome reception hosted by the Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland was held on 30 October. In addition to conference participants, the reception was attended by Mayor Sato and City Assembly Vice Chairperson Naito of Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, as well as Auckland councillors. Utsunomiya and Auckland will celebrate the 45th anniversary of its sister-city partnership with Auckland in 2027. The reception provided an opportunity to reflect on the longstanding friendship between the two cities and to share hopes for even further exchanges in the years ahead.
The conference took place over two days, from 31 October to 1 November, and brought together representatives from all JETAA chapters across Oceania, including five chapters in Australia and three in New Zealand. Representatives from the Singapore Chapter and the Guam Chapter (the latter joining online), as well as officers from JETAA International (JETAAI), also participated.
Under the theme ‘A Legacy Passed to a New Horizon,’ participants engaged in lively discussions through group work on a range of topics. These included how to create engaging events for newly returned JET participants and how to pass on the experience and knowledge built over the JET Programme’s 40-year history to future generations.
The conference was a valuable opportunity for members of the JET community from different countries and regions to come together, reflect on the programme’s achievements over the past four decades, and look ahead to its future.
A big thank you to JETAA New Zealand, all participating chapters, and our hosts in Auckland for making the conference such a successful and inspiring event. We look forward to working even more closely with JETAA chapters across Oceania to support the JET Programme’s continued growth and build connections between communities.
On Tuesday, 27 October 2026, CLAIR Sydney attended the JET Programme Returnees Welcome Reception hosted by the Consulate-General of Japan in Melbourne. Together with the Consulate-General,JET alumni, government officials, Japanese language educators and representatives from Japan-related organisations, we warmly welcomed 15 returnees home to Australia following their completion of the JET Programme.
At the reception, we heard many heartwarming stories from the returnees about their students in Japan and met a former JET participant who spoke fluent Japanese, even using expressions from the local dialect of the region where they had lived. These conversations reminded us how meaningful the JET Programme has been for its participants and how deeply they cherish their connections with Japan.
As the JET Programme celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, we hope the friendships formed across Japan will continue to flourish, inspiring future generations and creating new opportunities for exchange between Japan and Australia.
▼Overview of the JET Programme
▼JET Programme Leaflet
For information about applying for the JET Programme, please visit the website of the Japanese embassy or consulate responsible for your area.
On Tuesday, 27 October, officials from the Aomori Prefectural Government visited the CLAIR Sydney office during their visit to Australia to conduct market research aimed at promoting inbound tourism to Japan.
We provided an overview of Australia’s demographics, economic profile and examples of initiatives undertaken by Japanese local governments in Australia. During the Q&A session, we had a lively exchange of views on a wide range of topics, including trends in interest and demand for travel to Japan, the role of local governments in Australia, and sister-city exchanges between Japan and Australia.
CLAIR Sydney supports a wide range of initiatives undertaken by Japanese local governments across Australia and New Zealand. If your organisation is interested in receiving support for initiatives in the region, please feel free to contact us.
In mid-September, a delegation from Nagoya City Council visited Nagoya’s sister city, Sydney, to strengthen ties and conduct research on various policies and projects in the city and surrounding areas.
CLAIR Sydney assisted in arranging visits and meetings with the City of Sydney and Sydney offices of Japanese government-related organisations, including JETRO, JNTO and UR, as well as visits to relevant facilities.
At Sydney Town Hall, the delegation learned about the City of Sydney’s housing policies and unique initiatives, including the Creative Hoardings Program, which utilises temporary construction site fences as opportunities for artists to showcase their work.
The delegation also donated books from Japan to Customs House, a historic building managed by the City of Sydney that now serves as a library and community space. They also visited Western Sydney Airport, which is scheduled to open at the end of October, to learn about the new airport and surrounding developments.
This visit was also a great opportunity to further strengthen the friendship between Nagoya and Sydney.
CLAIR Sydney supports various activities by Japanese local governments in Australia and New Zealand. Please feel free to contact us if we can assist with your initiatives!
On Sunday, 18 October, Bunkasai, a Japanese festival organised by the Embassy of Japan in New Zealand, was held in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, attracting around 3,000 visitors.
The festival featured stalls serving Japanese food such as onigiri rice balls and bento boxes, as well as booths where visitors could try on yukata or purchase handmade Japanese-style accessories and pottery. Visitors also enjoyed a variety of stage performances including Japanese taiko drumming, Māori choral singing and haka, a traditional dance of New Zealand’s Indigenous Māori people.
CLAIR Sydney hosted a booth showcasing tourist destinations and regional attractions across Japan, using brochures provided by Japanese local governments.
Throughout the day, many visitors stopped by enquiring about destinations for snow activities, lesser-known places to visit and local transport options. Others enthusiastically shared memories of their travels to Japan, from cycling the Shimanami Kaido to staying at traditional ryokan inns. One visitor made a particularly memorable comparison, likening Japan to a parfait: just as every layer offers something delicious, every region of Japan has something wonderful to discover too.
We also met students learning Japanese and people who had lived or worked in Japan. Their affection for Japan shone through in our conversations, reminding us of the strong ties between the people of Japan and New Zealand.
CLAIR Sydney will continue to cherish these exchanges with local communities as we share the diverse attractions of regions across Japan.
On Sunday, 11 October, Ehime Prefecture hosted a booth at Spring Cycle 2026, a cycling event held in Sydney, to promote the prefecture’s cycling tourism to Australian cyclists. CLAIR Sydney supported Ehime Prefecture’s activities at the event, including assisting with booth operations. The booth introduced visitors to Ehime’s cycling routes and tourism attractions, including the Shimanami Kaido, using brochures and cycling maps.
Among the visitors were cyclists planning to take part in Cycling Shimanami 2026, an international cycling event to be held in Ehime Prefecture on Sunday, 25 October. One visitor said they had first learned about the event when visiting Ehime Prefecture’s booth at Spring Cycle 2025 and subsequently decided to participate. It was encouraging to see how returning to the event and sharing information about cycling in Ehime had inspired visitors to take part.
CLAIR Sydney looks forward to continuing to support the activities of Japanese local governments in Australia and New Zealand and sharing the diverse attractions of regions across Japan.
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On Saturday, 3 October, the Blue Mountains Japanese Sakura Festival was held in Lawson, a town in the Blue Mountains located approximately 90 minutes by car from Sydney.
The Blue Mountains are one of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations, known for their magnificent valleys covered in eucalyptus forests and spectacular rock formations. The Greater Blue Mountains Area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
The area, already renowned for its cherry blossoms, hosted the festival for the first time. Food stalls offered Japanese favourites such as taiyaki, okonomiyaki and matcha drinks,while the stage program featured kendo demonstrations, performances by idol groups and a cosplay competition, attracting a large number of visitors throughout the day.
CLAIR Sydney hosted a booth showcasing travel destinations and regional attractions from across Japan. We were impressed by the depth of visitors’ knowledge of and interest in Japan. Among the visitors were some who were familiar with the “cherry blossom front”, which describes the northward progression of cherry blossoms as they bloom across Japan, and one visitor who had even built a “torii gate”, the traditional gateway to a Shinto shrine, at their home!
CLAIR Sydney will continue to promote the diverse attractions of regions across Japan by participating in events like these throughout Australia and New Zealand. If you see our booth at an event, please feel free to stop by and say hello!
