Simone is based in Melbourne. She has been traveling to various locations in Japan since 2003 and spent the best part of 2007 living in Osaka. Her interest in, and passion for, sake has evolved from a very early fascination with Japanese culture, and over 20 years experience in the food and beverage industry, (with a focus on sake for the decade). Her mission is to share sake stories along with the joy of sake and help promote this unique and delicious beverage, and its rich history, in Australia and beyond.
- Independent sake consultant, promoter and educator
- Awarded the honorary title of Sake Samurai in 2022
- Founder/Host: Taste with the Toji project (since 2020)
- Sake Podcast host on TWTT
* Completed WSET Sake Level 3, 2017
* Completed John Gauntner's Sake Professional Course in Tokyo, 2018
* Completed John Gauntner's Advanced Sake Professional Course in Tokyo, 2019
* Selected Finalist at Sake Sommelier Awards, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2019

A Japanese drumming team, based in Melbourne, was established in 1996. Wadaiko Rindo is renowned for their energetic and dynamic drumming performances. Their performances are spectacular visual displays of stamina, strength and humour, with the vibrations produced on stage energising the whole audience. Over the last 30 years, Wadaiko Rindo have not only entertained Australian audiences, but they have also represented their unique blend of Australian and Japanese drumming further afield to countries like Fiji, Tonga, Singapore, China, Japan and New Caledonia. Along with hundreds of local and interstate festival appearances, corporate events and public performances. They passionately share their love of Japanese drumming and hope that you, too, will be touched by the energy of these traditional instruments.

Hananingen, a Japanese floral arrangement technique, has reached Australia with a florist YUKA KONNO becoming the first person to open a studio in Sydney, Australia in 2019 dedicated to the unique floral style.

Yuka has won numerous honors, most recently "THE BEST STUDIO FLORIST" at the Sydney Markets Fresh Award. Hananingen, which translates to “flower human” in Japanese, is a style of arranging fresh flowers on people’s heads and bodies.

It is a new form of ARTWORK that fuses flowers and people. She started this business with the hope that wearing flowers would bring out the beauty of a person and from that experience, people would love themselves, love flowers more, and the cycle of happiness would grow.

Yuka would like to stand at the origin of life and convey the beauty and fragility of life, as well as the splendor of living on earth, through her work. Making one person happy does not make one person happy.

When one person smiles, the chain of smiles continues over and over again. Increasing the smiles of people close to us is the first step towards smiles all over the world.

Through HANANINGEN ART, she would like to sow the seeds from her own hands.

Nana Koizumi, based in Nara Prefecture, Japan, is a trumpeter, vocalist, composer, educator, graphic designer, and appointed tourism ambassador of Nara, Kashihara City. Nana’s life as a musician has made her a world traveler of sorts, as she performed in events and parties in music scenes across the globe, from New York, Los Angeles, Thailand, Korea and Canada until finally, in November 2022, she moved to Australia. Nana’s makes her return to the Sake Festival this year after performing on stages all across Australia, highlights of which include International Jazz Day 2023, where Nana performed at two renowned live venues in Sydney, Butchers Brew Bar and Lazybones Lounge, a Fed Square performance with Sampa the Great, the Alibaba EXPO at the International Convention Centre, the JAPAN EXPO in Melbourne in May 2024 and the SydFest Independent Film Festival in June 2024. In addition to her own performances, Nana also launched a project that showcases Japanese musical culture through jazz abroad. The "Japanese Music Project" aims to bridge Japan and Australia through music.

【SBS Interview in Australia 2023】 https://www.sbs.com.au/language/japanese/ja/podcast-episode/trumpeter-and-vocalist-nana-koizumi/s5nu39tvi

George hails from Japan but has now made Melbourne, Australia home. A blues based musician with a folk and country influence. His playing is typified by its raw energy and broad tonal range - from delicate harmonics to searing rips and slides on guitar, soulful singing, multiple drum pedals by foot and driving rhythms on harmonica, he is a one man band. Known as the Japanese Blues Cowboy he plays at various venues and festivals throughout Australia and overseas. At the same time, George's street live performances have gained popularity on YouTube, and he now has over 200,000 subscribers and gaining more.