SYDNEY – The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) Sydney office will farewell its executive director, Jotaro Horiuchi, on March 29 when he returns to Japan after a three year stint in Australia.
Horiuchi will return to a posting at Japan’s Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLITT) in Tokyo.
During Horiuchi’s tenure in Sydney, the number of Australians visiting Japan grew steadily with a 24 percent increase in Australian arrivals to Japan between 2006 and 2008.
Horiuchi said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Australia. “I was impressed with the curiosity Australian people have for Japan. They are passionate about exploring the unique Japanese culture and skiing in rural Japanese ski resorts.â€
Horiuchi’s successor, Yukio Yamashita, who also hails from the MLITT, will arrive in Sydney on March 23.
Back in Japan, the country’s celebrated cherry blossom season has begun nearly two weeks earlier than usual in a number of cities across western Japan, according to a Cherry Blossom Report released by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) yesterday.
The Somei Yoshino variety of cherry tree (the most popular variety in Japan), began flowering in Fukuoka City on March 13, 13 days
earlier than usual, and in Matsuyama City on the island of Shikoku, on March 17, 11 days earlier than usual.
The JMA says significantly higher than average temperatures during February, and higher than average temperatures so far in March have contributed to significantly earlier than average blooms in many areas across the eastern and western regions of Japan.
Cherry blossoms are forecast to flower in Tokyo from March 21 and in Kyoto from March 23, seven and eight days earlier than usual, respectively.
