Tag Archives: Japanese

2010 May 24th – Japanese Visitors

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(Click on thumbnails to see full pictures)

We were thrilled to welcome a lovely couple from Nagoya in Japan – Kiichi and Ryoko Hayashi. They joined us at the Plus and Mainstream clubs and endeared themselves to everyone. We took the opportunity to show them around some of our native fauna on a weekend with a visit to Cleland National Park. We followed that with a dinner at Ned Kelly’s Retreat restaurant. For some reason, Ryoko was quite reluctant to eat something she had only just patted earlier in the day! Steaks were a must though and a welcome change from the fish and rice dishes they are used to. They had a wonderful time and were very charming. When we found out Kiichi also called, Graham put him on stage and he delivered a stirring hoedown. It’s always a great reminder of how universal square dancing is and borders just disappear. We wish them well on their remaining travels around Australia.

Return visit by Japanese caller Duke Okada

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Duke callingThe Okadas, the Elliotts and Julie & Peter WinterMariko Okada, Dawn, Graham, Atsuyuki Okada, Sumika Okada and Duke Okada.

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We were thrilled to receive a return visit from Duke Okada from Osaka in Japan. Duke visited us back in 2006 and returned this year with his wife and two children for a brief holiday in Adelaide. In visiting both our MS and Plus clubs, we were priveleged to have him call. He has a smooth style and is very clear and he quickly endeared himself to our dancers. Their visit coincided with our Adelaide Idol easter Dance and I think they were quite entertained by the outstanding talent of our dancers.

Whilst here, we took the opportunity to expose them to some of the culinary delights that Adelaide has to offer and give them a sample of the Adelaide Festival with a tour of the “Northern Lights” display on Adelaide’s North Terrace.

We say “Arigato” (thankyou) and syonarrah to our Japanese friends and hope we shall cross paths again in the future.

Check out Duke’s club website on our “Square Dance Resources” links page. Why you might even spot some Aussies there!