VENUE

The forum will be held at the Hotel Hagikomachi, Hagi, Japan. The hotel fronts on the Japan sea.Hagi faces the Japan Sea on the west. It is located about 100 km west of Hiroshima, where the next ITC will be held. Hagi was one of the old castle towns.This city is well-known in that the samurais in this local town had a main role in the Meiji Restoration in 1867.The ruins of the Hagi Castle and the old houses of the samurais still remain in Hagi. They give us the nice calm walking streets surrounded by the white walls and greens.

How to come to the Venue (Hotel Hagikomachi) from the airport.

The main international airports are the Narita Airport and the Kansai Airport, while the nearest air port is the Fukuoka Airport. First take the JR train or subway at one of the airports to the nearest Shinkansen station, Tokyo, or Shin-osaka or Hakata, then take a Shinkansen to the Shin-yamaguchi Station, from where take a local Bocho-bus or JR-bus to the bus stop at the JR Higashi-hagi station.At Higashi-hagi station take a microbus of the hotel or a taxi to the Hotel Hagikomachi.

You can find the departure time and the arrival time of the Shinkansen train that you want to take, with the following URL.
　　　http://www.tabi-o-ji.com/shinkansen/schedule/schedule_en.html

Below is the time table of the local Bocho-bus and JR-bus, which depart at the same bus stop No. ①, at the Shin-yamaguchi Station for the bus stop at the Higashi-hagi Station.

1. At theKansai Airport
When you come from the kansai airport, take first a JR limitted Express Train, "the Haruka" to Shin-osaka Station. It takes about 50 minutes.Then take a super express train, "the Shinkansen", from the Shin-Osaka to Shin-Yamaguchi Station. It takes about 2 hours. From the Shin-Yamaguchi Station, take a "JR-bus" or "Bocho-bus" to Higashi-hagi Station. It takes about 95 minutes. Please enjoy the bus trip going through the green hills in the country side. From the Higashi-hagi station to the hotel hagikomachi, take a free microbus of the hotel or a taxi. It takes about 10 minutes.The distance from the Higashi-hagi station to the Hotel Hagikomachi is about 3 km.

Buy a train ticket at the airport to the Shin-yamaguchi Station (fare: 8,400 JPY) through the Shin-osaka Station, together with the limitted express ticket, "the Haruka"(fare: 1,660 JPY) and the Super Express ticket of Shinkansen (fare: 5,220 JPY+reserved seat fare). If it is difficult for you to buy a ticket because you do not speak Japanese, please show the following Japanese translation of the Enlish original.You do not need to buy a reserved seat ticket for the Haruka, since you may have a seat for you as the airport station is the terminal. Whereas in Shinkansen it is better to buy a reserved seat, since Shin-osaka is not the terminal.

2. At the Fukuoka Airport
Take first a subway to the Hakata Station. It takes only 6 minutes.Then take a super express train, "the Shinkansen", from the Hakata to Shin-Yamaguchi Station. It takes 35 minutes. From the Shin-Yamaguchi Station, take a "JR-bus" or "Bocho-bus" to the Higashi-hagi Station. It takes about 95 minutes. From the Higashi-hagi station to the hotel hagikomachi, take a free microbus of the hotel or a taxi. It takes about 10 minutes.The distance from the Higashi-hagi station to the Hotel Hagikomachi is about 3 km.

3. At the Shin-yamaguchi Station.
Buy a tichket of Bocho-bus or JR bus to the Higashi-hagi Station at the bus ticket office in the first floor of the Shin-yamaguchi Station. The bus fare is 1,970 JPY. When the bus ticket office is closed, you can pay the fare in the bus. Please take the bus at the No. 1 bus stop.

The bus goes in the country side through the montains

4. At the Higashi-hagi Station.
1) Free microbus of the hotel
If you would like to take the free microbus of the hotel, please go to the tourist information center (Kanko-annaisyo in Japanese) in the station and ask to call the Hotel Hagikomachi to pick you up by a hotel micfrobus, since the tourist information center has a duty to call the hotel for the guest acording to a contract. The guide in the information center speaks English.

Then, the hotel microbu comes. It takes about 10 minutes to the hotel.

2) Taxi
If you would like to go to the hotel by a taxi, you can catch a taki at the station. The taxi fare to the Hotel Hagikomachi is about 1,000 JPY.

If you find no taxi, please ask to the person at the tourist informatin center to call the taxi.