If there is one place in the world that exemplifies an attempt at reconciliation between Australia and Japan after WWII, it is Cowra, 320km west of Sydney.
Here lies a small piece of Japan - a cemetery ceded to that country in 1963 because it holds the remains of 234 Japanese soldiers who died, along with five Australians, in a breakout in August 1944 from the big Prisoner-of-War Camp number 12.
In 1979, the magnificent Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre were built in further recognition of the town’s reconciliatory attitude, which was internationally acknowledged in 1992 when the town was awarded the Australian World Peace Bell - a replica of the original which hangs in the UN Building in New York - which has pride of place in the centre of town.
The special bond between Cowra and Japan is also reflected in the Festival of Understanding in March, and Sakua Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) in October.
The Cowra region has also emerged as an important wine growing area and visitors can spend a very pleasant couple of days being driven round the increasing chain of tasting rooms.
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Central West region.
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