The Dunedin City Council spent more than $13,000 hosting 48 delegates from Japanese sister city Otaru in October, just-released council figures show.
About $7600 fed about 110 people at a civic dinner at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and another $793 took most of the delegation on a tour of Speight's Brewery.
The council paid $1050 to use the gallery and another $896 on costs associated with a free concert using the three large Taiko drums Otaru presented to the city.
Eight of the delegation enjoyed a round of golf and catering worth $280, and the celebratory Haggis Ceremony cost about as much as the $310 translation service.
The visit was the second between the cities this year.
A 22-strong delegation left Dunedin in July as part of a two-part celebration of the signing of the sister city agreement 30 years ago.
Dunedin spent $12,700 on flights and accommodation for then-mayor Peter Chin and Crs Bill Acklin and Andrew Noone for that visit.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said the Otaru delegation paid for its own flights and accommodation, and the visit cost well under its $20,000 budget.
Asked whether that meant the visit was good value for money, Mr Cull said it represented the cost of the ongoing commitment to the sister city relationship.
It was important to maintain and strengthen ties with Japan as the focus of the world economy continued to shift from the United States and Europe, to Asia.
Both cities had to keep working to ensure the relationship remained relevant, and would continue to review how it worked, Mr Cull said.
He and Mayor Katsumaro Yamada discussed encouraging other groups, such as schools, to strengthen links and make visits to grow the relationship.
