E-Newsletter

Japanese History and Samurai Challenge the IT Industry

Tokyo welcomed the OpenStack Summit - a four-day conference for developers, users, and administrators of OpenStack Cloud Software - this October. With the preparation jointly facilitated by Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, one of the Summit's main sponsors as well as participants, organized during the conference period a private hospitality event in a beautiful temple, inviting 280 company key-members and VIP guests.

The tailor-made remarkable program at the authentic unique venue was organized featuring Japanese history and Samurai. One of the operational organizers, Mr. Marc Sheldon, Managing Director of Quaack Services Pty (Australia) commented, "Our intention was to provide the participants with the cultural challenge rather than just entertainment. The participants were impressed by the performance such as ATSUMORI*, showing the authentic part of Japan. Personally, I was also impressed. It was absolutely amazing. I had seen it on video, however, it was completely different to see the live performance in the temple grounds".

The Noh play, the Shishi-lion dance performance, calligraphy demonstration by a well-known artist Ms. Biho Yamauchi, Koto harp and Shakuhachi flute musical duo and the narration by a famous radio DJ Mr. Chris Glenn, an expert on Samurai History and Culture of Japan, were perfectly harmonized reflecting the organizer's idea about this hospitality event. Between the performances, guests enjoyed mingling and taking photos with Samurai actors illustrating some historical moments of Japan.

The other operational organizer, Mr. Yann de Seze, Managing Director of Maya & Co (France), summarized his impression as follows: "I was very impressed by the quality of today's event produced, especially by local teams and I appreciate their efforts. This beautiful, welcoming and authentic place, Tokyo, is the best place to be and it is exactly what I was expecting."

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*Atsumori - a Japanese Noh play featuring Taira no Atsumori, a young samurai who was killed in the Genpei War, and his killer, Kumagai Naozane.

Astonishing Sumo match at the Gala Dinner!

Several splendid programs have been added as complimentary entertainment to Tokyo's Special Offer* since this April. The Sumo Event has especially received high appreciation by the organizers and participants of incentive group that visited Tokyo this autumn.

Spectacular Sumo Event

The Gala Dinner organized for a global company incentive group in "Hana-no-Mai", a restaurant equipped with a real sumo ring, was a genuine highlight of the 5-day visit to Tokyo, Kawagoe, Hakone and Mt.Fuji.

Firstly, the participants were welcomed by sumo wrestlers' two unique traditional songs: "Sumo Words" explaining the words related to sumo and "Welcome to Japan" describing the sumo culture. The song lyrics, including their company name, were a great surprise for the participants and they enjoyed the song itself, referring to the English translation written on the distributed cards.
Then, the participants listened to the explanation about sumo such as history, a five-hour daily routine training and techniques / terms such as "shiko"- stomping the ground, "suriashi" - shuffling walk and many others demonstrated by two former sumo wrestlers.
At the climax of the event, the spectacular sumo matches were actually held three times to judge the strongest sumo wrestler there. Having gathered around the ring, the participants were astonished by the strength as well as skills of real sumo wrestlers with a weight of mostly 200kg, whom they saw so close for the first time in their lives. The commemorative photos taken at the end successfully concluded this unforgettable event.

The organizers appreciated the program by commenting, "We were very grateful to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau for this wonderful opportunity to experience the authentic Japanese culture, with which all our participants were extremely delighted."

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*Tokyo's Special Offer for Corporate Meetings and Incentive Travel is provided for groups of at least 100 visitor nights in Tokyo.
For more details, please contact the Business Events Team at the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau or visit: http://businesseventstokyo.org/uploads/2015/08/SpecialOffers_en.pdf

A unique opportunity for business events at Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo

Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, a popular museum preserving the original design of 1894, is located in the heart of the Tokyo Marunouchi district with a distance of only 5 minutes on foot from Tokyo Station. With the exhibition of artworks from the late 19th to the first half of the 20th century, the museum focuses on the interaction between art and cities in the modern era. Since having reopened in 2010, over 2 million people have visited this museum.

While carefully preserving its history, Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, is setting out on a new project.

Like to organize a private visit to this popular museum for your clients? The Museum in the Morning plan is the best solution possible.
This plan for 60 persons (maximum 200) is available from Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 9:00 till 10:00.

Do you need a unique place to welcome your valued guests or organize an exclusive welcome party for VIPs? The Museum at Night plan is just what you need. A plan for 60 persons (maximum 300) is available from Tuesday to Thursday (excluding public holidays) from 18:30 till 20:00. After privately enjoying the exhibition, the guests will be invited to the Museum's "Café 1894".

On Monday, when the museum is closed to the public, you are welcome to organize private viewing of the exhibition for 60-80 persons and a buffet style Monday Lunch from 10:00 till 15:30 or Monday Dinner from 18:00 till 22:00.

For more information please contact +81-3-3287-5965 or visit http://mimt.jp/guide/charter/ (the page is in Japanese only)

Strengthening accessibility from every corner of the world

Easy and comfortable access to the destination - is a one of the important cornerstones of success. Increasing the number of international flights, reducing the time required for the immigration process - these are just some activities done in line with the preparations for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games 2020 that truly reinforce the business events environment.

NARITA AIRPORT

Narita Airport hit the record of 4366 international/domestic arrivals and departures
Narita International Airport announced the highest number of flights since its opening, reaching the total number of 4366 arrivals/departures for international/domestic flights per week.
The number of international flights is 3449, which includes 2950 arrivals/departures for international passenger flights with a growth by 112 arrivals/departures comparing with the same period last year.
As of October 2015, 88 international airlines operate in Narita Airport, connecting it with 106 overseas and 17 domestic airports.

Increasing number of flights
In the fourth quarter of this year, All Nippon Airways (ANA) has launched its new daily service from Narita Airport to Brussels and China Southern Airlines launched three new routes between Narita and Changsha, Harbin and Wuhan, while having increased the number of services on its Changchun route. Air China commenced a direct service between Narita and Chengdu operating four times a week and the low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan has launched a new route to Taipei with six flights per week. Furthermore, Japan Airlines (JAL) expanded its trans-Pacific network with return-to-service between Tokyo-Narita and Dallas/Fort Worth.

HANEDA AIRPORT

Haneda Airport, admired by travelers for accessibility, terminal cleanliness, food & beverages, shopping and many other features, commemorated 5 years this October since the opening of the International Terminal. At present, the number of international passenger flight arrivals is over 600 per week. 33 international airlines operate in Haneda Airport connecting it with 30 overseas airports.

Increasing number of flights
In the fourth quarter of this year, ANA and JAL have begun services connecting Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Guangzhou in China. Both airlines will also increase their flights linking Haneda with Beijing, in addition to those between Haneda and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
Through this year, ANA enjoys the jumping number of passengers on routes to and from Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, up some 20 percent comparing to the previous year, while JAL showed an increase of 10 percent.

SPEEDING UP IMMIGRATION PROCESS

In order to speed up the immigration procedure at the inspection desks, the Ministry of Justice plans to start using mobile terminals at airports that will take photos and fingerprints of foreign visitors while they are waiting in line at immigration control. Currently, all immigration processing usually take place at the desks and, in accordance with more foreigners visiting the country, the waiting time has increased at some airports. The Ministry official said that the longest waiting time for immigration during the first half of this year was 24 minutes at Haneda Airport and 20 minutes at Narita International Airport.

The new terminal, called the "biocart," can send visitors' images and fingerprints to the desk along with their passport information. The ministry plans to install the terminals in all airports with international flights starting from April 2016. According to a senior ministry official, some persons may get through immigration in half the time currently required.

Launch of a Campaign to Promote the "Tokyo Brand"

With an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) is implementing measures aimed at the establishment of a "Tokyo Brand" to strongly convey the attraction of Tokyo as a travel destination.
On October 9, the TMG announced the launch of a new initiative to promote the Tokyo brand. The campaign centers on "& TOKYO," a new logo and slogan based on the brand concept. Through use of the logo and slogan within Japan and abroad, the TMG aims to familiarize the world with the Tokyo brand. By placing various words or corporate logos before the "&" to form different combinations, the logo can be used widely by Tokyo residents, businesses, and foreign tourists as a tool to convey the attractions and values of Tokyo to the world.

For more information please visit: http://andtokyo.jp/en/

Tokyo ranks fourth in the annual Global Power City Index

Tokyo has maintained the fourth-place ranking out of 40 major global cities in the annual Global Power City Index (GPCI) for eight straight years since the first GPCI announcement in 2008, trailing London, New York and Paris.

Compiled annually by the Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies, GPCI assesses each city's power to "attract creative individuals and enterprises" and "mobilize their assets for economic and social development," based on criteria such as economy, research, cultural interaction, livability, environment and accessibility.