The surprising origin of Tasmania's cherry blossom festival

The annual blooming of the cherry blossoms attracts thousands of visitors to Japan's islands each year.

Thousands of kilometres away, another island celebrates the arrival of the same delicate white flowers.

Three hundred cherry blossoms line the Meander River at Deloraine, a gift from a Japanese businessman 30 years ago when Tasmania began growing a prized Japanese staple: buckwheat.

The trees form part of the annual Hanami Trail, a northern Tasmanian festival that celebrates everything Japanese.

In 1986, trials to grow buckwheat began in the southern capital.

Buckwheat is used to create soba noodles, popular in Japanese restaurants.

The concept was developed by Japanese flour mill owner Rick Shiratori, who had been on exchange to Australia in his youth.

The milled seed is aromatic and best served fresh. By growing buckwheat in Tasmania, the Japanese market suddenly had access to two seasons of fresh soba noodles.

Celebration of new season noodles

President of the Australia-Japan Society of Tasmania, Steven Phipps, says the connection between the countries is purely down to Japan's love of shin soba or "new season" noodles.

"[Shin soba] are the first noodles of the annual harvest and they're particularly prized in Japan,"

Dr Phipps said.

"The huge advantage of Tasmania is that our seasons here are reversed, so if you grow buckwheat in Tasmania as well as Japan, it means you can enjoy those sweet, fresh, new-season noodles twice a year."

Now in its fifth year, an estimated 200 people attended the event on Sunday,

Highlights included aikido (martial arts), taiko performances (drumming) and shakuhachi (bamboo flute performance).

Dr Phipps said the cherry blossoms bloom once a year for only 10 days, and it is a great opportunity for celebrations.

"We have a population of about 800 Japanese people in Tasmania, and this is the one time of year the community comes together," he said.

"It's a very joyous atmosphere.

"It is really a celebration of community, a celebration of culture, a celebration of food and a celebration of nature."

Connecting to culture

Local nurse Kuniko Ishihara was born in Shizuoka in Japan.

She moved to Australia in 2000 as a student.

Living in nearby Westbury, she keeps a close eye on the cherry blossom trees that line the river, awaiting their annual bloom to celebrate with her family.

"I've been in Tasmania, in this area, for 10 years now. Every year I look forward to this flower," she said.

"I really appreciate the businessman who donated these trees. I always think of him and thank him."

Her son Cy Eberle grew up in Tasmania but spent time living in Japan with his family before starting primary school.

"I don't think I really see anyone Japanese outside of this event, unless I am in Japan obviously," he said.

"It's very nice and a very nostalgic feeling for me."

Designer agriculture

After trials for the cultivation of buckwheat were successful in the late 80s, Heazlewood Seeds began assisting local operations for Shiratori Flour Mills.

Fourth-generation grower Brenton Heazlewood has been helping grow, store and export buckwheat from his Whitemore property, 30 kilometres south-east of Launceston, for three decades.

"[Shiratori] knew that where good apples grew, good buckwheat would grow,"

he said.

"It's only ever been a small industry in Tasmania. It's a niche industry."

Mr Heazlewood said the seed has no relation to wheat, is gluten-free, and is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world.

Buckwheat is a small triangular seed that is sown in summer and grown for three months before it is dried and the husk removed before it is exported.

"We send some to Japan, we send some to restaurants in Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne as well," Mr Heazlewood said.

"The buckwheat that's grown in Tasmania is the most expensive buckwheat that's imported into Japan.

"Demand started off small. When COVID struck, the demand in Japan dropped right off because no-one was going to restaurants, and it really hasn't picked up a lot since then."

Sixteen-year-old Jez Lupke attended the picnic with his family dressed in costume as his favourite Japanese character.

The samurai character comes from video game Genshin Impact and has spawned manga and anime spin-offs.

"It's from a Chinese game, but the character's Japanese," he said.

"I thought about going here because of the Japanese community, that there will be people who will understand the pop culture centred around the character."