How a Love of Soba Noodles Brought Hundreds of Cherry Trees to Tasmania

Every spring, hundreds of cherry trees burst into bloom along the Meander River in northern Tasmania, creating a scene that looks more like Japan than Australia.

But the story behind the trees began with something far less romantic: buckwheat and a Japanese love of freshly made soba noodles.

About 30 years ago, Tasmania began developing a small buckwheat industry after Japanese interest in the island’s agricultural potential. Buckwheat is the seed used to make soba noodles, a traditional Japanese food.

The idea had an important advantage. Because Australia’s seasons are opposite to those in Japan, growing buckwheat in Tasmania could give Japanese consumers access to fresh new-season soba at a different time of year.

Japanese flour mill owner Rick Shiratori was closely involved in developing the connection. Trials to grow buckwheat in Tasmania began in the 1980s, eventually creating a small industry that continues to supply buckwheat to Japan and other markets.

The agricultural relationship later helped create something unexpected: a lasting cultural connection between Tasmania and Japan.

Shiratori donated hundreds of cherry trees, which were planted along the Meander River near the town of Deloraine. Today, about 300 cherry trees line the river, becoming the centrepiece of the annual Hanami Trail festival.

The festival takes its name from the Japanese tradition of hanami, or enjoying flowers, particularly cherry blossoms. In Tasmania, the event has become an opportunity for local residents and members of the Japanese community to celebrate their shared connection.

The blossoms only remain at their peak for around 10 days, making the annual event a short but highly anticipated part of the local calendar.

Visitors can experience Japanese calligraphy, art, martial arts, traditional music and food while walking among the flowering trees.

For people from Tasmania’s Japanese community, the festival also provides a rare opportunity to reconnect with their heritage.

Kuniko Ishihara, a nurse who was born in Shizuoka, Japan, moved to Australia as a student in 2000. She now lives near the cherry trees and looks forward to seeing them bloom every year with her family.

For Ishihara, the trees are more than decoration. They provide a connection to the country where she was born while also becoming part of the place where she has built her life.

Her son, Cy Eberle, grew up in Tasmania and also spent time living in Japan. He said the festival creates a nostalgic feeling because it gives him a chance to be surrounded by other people connected to Japanese culture.

Steven Phipps, president of the Australia-Japan Society of Tasmania, said the state’s Japanese community includes around 800 people. The annual cherry blossom season has become one of the moments when many of them come together.

The original buckwheat industry remains a small one. Fourth-generation Tasmanian grower Brenton Heazlewood has helped grow, store and prepare the crop for export for three decades.

The buckwheat is harvested, dried and processed before being sent to Japan and other destinations, including restaurants in Australia and Singapore.

What began as an agricultural experiment has therefore created a much broader legacy. A Japanese interest in Tasmania’s fresh buckwheat helped establish a food connection, which eventually led to hundreds of cherry trees becoming part of the landscape.

Today, when the trees bloom, visitors gather along the river to enjoy a festival that celebrates Japanese culture in the middle of Tasmania.

For the people who attend, the flowers may be the most visible part of the story. But behind them is a three-decade relationship built through food, farming, friendship and the simple idea that two places with different seasons could share something beautiful.

Sources: ABC News Australia, Australia-Japan Society of Tasmania.