JAPANNEW IDEAS, INNOVATIVEMEETINGS
As one of the leading destinations for hosting international association
meetings, Japan last year designed a new brand aiming at strengthening
country as a whole as an attractive destination for business events of all
kinds and format. In doing so, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)
wants to prove Japan is a location association planners can’t do without.
Rémi Dévé reports
STARTING HERE

BUILDING ON THE OLYMPICS

To highlight Japan’s advantages as an innovative andexciting meetings and events destination, Japan has
adopted the tagline: New ideas start here. Japan’s
unique culture and advanced technology, together
with the opportunity for interaction with the Japanese
academic, business, and industrial community,inspire participants and offer new perspectives andinsight that propel the further evolution of scienceand industry.

Japan is also building Olympics on the momentum
leading to the 2020 Olympics that will be held in thecountry for the second time. The Games will enable
the Japanese capital to join London, Paris, Athens andLos Angeles as part of an elite clutch of cities thathave hosted the games more than once.

With this tagline, the message is clear: coming
to Japan brings visitors into contact with theimagination and intelligence of Japan’s people andculture, which underpins the country’s high quality,
technological expertise, and creativity. Holding
meetings and events in Japan enables participants
to gain inspiration and flashes of insight that enable
future business growth.

This is significant in terms of the construction strategy
being adopted– the Olympics will be the first inmodern times to make such extensive use of existingvenues built for a previous Olympic Games. Moreover,Mt. Fuji

MARCH 201719 HEADQUARTERS

the country has also framed an organisational
approach for 2020 that will see extensive use ofexisting venues and a relatively small number of
new-build projects. Meeting planners will undoubtely
make good use of those venues.
Additionally, aiming to be the leading MICE
destination in Asia by 2030, the safest country par
excellence, Japan boasts one of the largest national
memberships within many international associations,and has a world-class record of hosting successfulinternational association events. With several
industry clusters around the country, it’s easy tofind links that will help associations grow theirmembership and congresses boost their attendance.

AICHI PREFECTURE & ITS CAPITAL,NAGOYA CITY
WHERE TECHNOLOGY AND
TRADITION MEETA

6 NOBEL LAUREATES

ichi-Nagoya is the capital of the third mostpopulated metropolitan area in Japan, locatedin the very heart of Japan, just between Tokyoand Kyoto-Osaka.

Indeed, Aichi-Nagoya is renowned for its knowledge.
Nagoya University which has so far produced 6 Nobel
laureates is regularly hosting conferences here inAichi-Nagoya.

Served by CHUBU CENTRAIR International Airport,Shinkansen (the bullet train) and several express
highways, Aichi-Nagoya is easily accessible.

Nagoya Congress Centre

Hotels in Aichi-Nagoya are the best places formeeting. Five-star hotels such as Hilton, Marriott,WESTIN, CROWNE PLAZA, Nagoya Kanko and Tokyu,
all offering world-standard hospitality to their guests,
have a sufficient number of banquet halls, which arevery suitable for meetings.

It has long been a point of exchange and interaction,
crossroads between the east, west, north and southof Japan. The geographic position is reflected on
unique characteristics of the region. Traditional
manufacturing technologies like automatic loom
and Karakuri (automata) were nurtured in this areaand have been passed down from generation togeneration. It has led to the thick accumulationof cutting-edge industries including automotive,aerospace and robotics.

SCMAGLEV and Railway Park

2 LARGE WORLD-CLASS CONFERENCES
IN 1 EXCELLENT FACILITY
The main convention venue is Nagoya Congress Centre.
It is located close to the city centre, easily accessible
from the airport and hotels, and it offers spaces ataffordable prices. It covers almost a million square feetand contains a 3,012-seat Century Hall, three halls (a20,666-square-foot Event Hall, a 13,454-square-footShirotori Hall, and a 7,211-square-foot Reception Hall)and 25 meeting rooms. What’s more, it’s notable that
Nagoya Congress Centre has hosted international
conferences including “UNESCO World Conference on
Education for Sustainable Development (2014)” and“The Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity (2010)”.

Nagoya Noh Theater

Here are three examples of impressive uniquevenues. The first one is “SCMAGLEV and RailwayPark” known as the best place for a banquet. It is amuseum showcasing real rolling stock includingSuperconducting Maglev and generations ofShinkansen. The second one is Nagoya Noh Theaterwith the seating capacity of 630. The all-cypress Nohstage is available as a stage for a lecture meeting,and the magnificent atmosphere of the theater will
impress participants. The last one is Yagoto-sanKoushoji Buddhist temple, a place where you cancome into contact with Zen, a distinctive Japanesephilosophy. There, sitting meditation and “Shakyo”
sutra copying under the guidance of Buddhist monks
are must-do’s.

Yagoto-san Koushoji Buddhist temple

MAO SASANABE©JTA/©JNTO

It has long been apoint of exchangeand interaction,crossroads between
the east, west, northand south of Japan.

RICH MEETING FACILITIES:HOTELS & UNIQUE VENUES

Nagoya Castle

MARCH 201720 HEADQUARTERS

Assistant Manager, Convention Marketing
Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau
convention@ncvb.or.jp
T. +81-52-202-1146
www.nagoya-info.jp/en/convention/

SENDAIBETWEEN SCIENCE AND CULTURE

The largest city in the Tohoku region, Sendai isknown the world over for its expertise in scienceand culture. Home to over 20 universities andcolleges, research institutes, museums and otherhigher learning facilities, Sendai is also known as
the “City of Trees”, thanks to its lush greenery.
Sendai International Center can welcome aconference of 6,000 participants and is the largest
convention hall in the city. This center was hometo the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction in 2015 when Sendai gained prominence
as an international convention city. The meeting
was attended by approximately 6,500 people
from 185 different countries. During the meeting,Sendai Mediatheque

the Sendai Declaration was adopted and Sendai
was recognized as a role model city for disasterprevention.
G7 Japan 2016

Unique venues in Sendai include the Umi-noMori Aquarium, where you can organize cocktails
in front of large fish tanks, or the Chitei-no-Mori,
Underground Forest Museum, showcasing remains
from the Paleolithic Age.
The city also offers a range of hotels such asSendai Akiu Spa Hotel Sakan where the G-7 Finance
Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting washeld in 2016, or the Hotel Metropolitan Sendai, whereinternational events are also frequently organized.

YUMIKO NAKAO

Sendai Tourism, Convention andInternational Association
conv@sentia-sendai.jp
T. +81-22-268-9603
www.sentia-sendai.jp/english

SHIZUOKA
WHERE MEETINGS MEET NATURE

L

ocated in the southeast part of central Japanfacing the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Tokyo
and Nagoya, Shizuoka has long prospered as themeeting point of east and west.
With Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, in fullview from pretty much everywhere in the city and anabundance of hot springs, Shizuoka is a very special
place. Resembling sister city Cannes in France forits seaside location, mild climate and abundantsunshine, Shizuoka is also a major producer andprocessor of green tea, now popular around the world
for its health benefits.
As for events, Shizuoka is home to 9 convention
sites with the capacity for 1,000 people or more,including Twin Messe Shizuoka, a centre for businessand manufacturing conferences and exhibitions.
Let’s also mention Granship, Shizuoka Prefecture
Convention & Arts Center, which can accommodate
up to 4,600 people.
Conference hotels include Nippondaira Hotel(complete with an impressive grass lawn!) for up to480 people theatre style or Hotel Century Shizuoka,
an urban hotel for up to 1,100. There is also a widearray of choice for unique venues: at the Tokai
University Marine Science Museum for instance,
dinner parties can be held in front of an indoor
6-meter deep aquarium, the deepest as a fish tankmade of acrylic glass in the country!

Mt. Fuji & Nippondaira Hotel

Hotel Century Shizuoka

MARCH 201721 HEADQUARTERS

DAVID RINEHART /SHINICHIRO SUZUKIMICE & International
Affairs Division
Shizuoka Citymice@city.shizuoka.lg.jp
T. +81-54-221-1423
www.visit-shizuoka.com/en

Granship Shizuoka

NEW UNIQUE VENUESTOKYOSTATE GUEST HOUSE,AKASAKA PALACEOSAKAKITAKYUSHUKOKURA CASTLE

OKINAWA
FUKUSHUEN GARDEN

This neo-Baroque Western-Style building
was built in 1909 as the palace for the thencrown prince later to be Emperor Taisho.
A national treasure for visiting state dignitaries, it has now just opened to event
planners - there you can have an exclusive
highest-level meeting or banquet.

Originally built to host APEC ‘95, thisother guesthouse was used to entertain
the Imperial Family and prominent international guests. The traditional Japanesepalace-style architecture offers planners
an excellent and elegant alternative tourban venues.

Built at the beginning of the Edo period,
Kokura Castle provides an interesting
contrast to the neighboring modern
shopping and entertainment districts.
The castle’s grounds are a popular cherry
blossom spot in April, and its tower canbe used as a perfect setting for small
events of about 80 people.

The Chinese style garden symbolizing
a friendship between Japan and China
is now available to hold receptions andmeetings. Participants can enjoy thetraditional Ryukyu dance performance on
the stage and a gala event in the modern
stylish restaurant.

OSAKA GEIHIKAN,(GUEST HOUSE IN OSAKACASTLE PARK)JAPAN NATIONALTOURISM ORGANIZATIONHEADQUARTERS TOKYO, JAPANTEL: +81 3 6691 4852
EMAIL: Convention@jnto.go.jp
www.japanmeetings.org
LONDON OFFICEMARGARET MANN
TEL: +44 (0)20 7283 2130
EMAIL: Margaret@jnto.co.uk

NEW YORK OFFICEMEAGAN MCTAGGARTTEL: +1 (212) 757 5640
EMAIL: Meagan@jntonyc.org

MARCH 201722 HEADQUARTERS