Photo Essay: A Slice of Japan in Aotearoa New Zealand

And very important meeting notice

Meetup in Tokyo on November 5

I’m not intending on bringing my conch, but for the right price…

First up, if you ever wanted a slice of Aotearoa in Japan, I’ll be at this meetup in Tokyo on November 5th¹. That’s right, I’ll be coming out of my yamabushi-hole deep in the mountains of Middle Yamagata and venturing to the big city, something I haven’t done since COVID actually².

And it’s not just me you’ll be meeting but a whole lot of other Japan writers, some I’ve been following for quite a while like Mark Kennedy, Baye McNeil, Jack Krown, Bill Adler, and someone I have been following for more than 10 years (not sure if you knew, but it’s true!) Tim Romero.

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A Slice of Japan in Aotearoa New Zealand

A native Tūī nibbling on the cherry blossoms, or whatever they do with them.

I got back from Aotearoa earlier this week and while I was there, I found a lot of Japan related stuff:

Japanese Coffee.

Aoi of Awaji Coffee making me a pour-over, she definitely knows her stuff! Sorry I didn’t have a more flattering photo though :(

Or, rather, coffee made by a Japanese person. Oh, and Matcha too I guess.

They even have the world-famous Japanese Sando, in that display there to the left, and Syphon coffee, something rather rare in these parts. Bonus: spot the bonsai!

It wouldn’t be a Kiwi Yamabushi post without some reference to coffee, or Japan, or coffee by a Japanese person, in Wellington! Ok, that last part is a step too far, but the newly opened Awaji Coffee run by Aoi Kobayashi, a Gifu native, is the perfect spot to get your slice of Japan in downtown Wellington.

I kind of only spoke in Japanese to Aoi (and her staff) too, despite their English being more than good enough. Aoi obliged, and because of that, I got to feel like I was in Japan for a short moment, which hardly ever happens in Aotearoa.

Unless, of course, you are under the:

Sakura.

Cool place to check out the cherry blossoms!

Honestly, we were a bit too early for it, but there was a Sakura festival at Aston Norwood, just north of us in Kaitoke earlier in the month.

At least some of it was in bloom!

My only problem with this festival is that, New Zealand doesn’t grow rice, but Sakura is directly related to the rice harvest. So the original meaning of why even celebrate being under the cherry blossoms in the first place is so special is completely lost on people.

Although, I don’t think even Japanese people realise the reason behind it… If you see a Japanese person in the wild, ask them if they know that the kura in iwakura is the same as in Sakura.

And finally,

The Last Samurai.

Or rather, the location it was filmed in.

Taranaki!

Pukekura park were many of the battle scenes in The Last Samurai were filmed. Would be cool to play cricket there, don’t you think? Look at that pristine grass!

You can see Taranaki Maunga, the mountain that played Fuji in The Last Samurai. Did you know Aotearoa was famous for making films? Who told you!?

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Daily Yamabushi Posts for September 11 to 24, 2026

Don’t smoke, kids. Don’t smoke kids.

Here are my Daily Yamabushi posts for the past week. Get more Daily Yamabushi posts at timbunting.com/daily-yamabushi. Discover more Japan essays and daily insights in the Kiwi Yamabushi Substack Archive, or follow my writing over on Medium.com.

Rather than clicking on these individually, you can just read all at once here.

September 18 to 24, 2026

1. Impress Me

2. The Equivalent of Crying

3. To Be Unnecessary

4. Against The Grain

5. The Loose Screw

6. The Song Must Go On

7. Make it Permanent

September 11 to 17, 2026

1. I Pride Myself

2. Lucky to Have You

3. Spin The Car Around

4. Now or Never

5. Drawing Between The Lines

6. The Reference Point

7. Right In Front of You

1. Guy Fawkes’ night, who’s bringing the fireworks?

2. Children will do that to you.