Accompanying persons will be able to attend the following attractive social events in addition to the conference social program.

Discover and explore Kobe city. A guidance of Kobe city will be available in room 401 in the KICC. Very useful information, including nice restaurants, must-see landmarks and shopping areas will be provided. This is a free guidance to make your stay more enjoyable.

A free bus tour of Kobe and the vicinity will be held on Monday afternoon. The half-day tour will include a 45 minutes cruise of the Kobe port, as well as visits to Arima Onsen (one of the Japan's oldest hot spring resort) and Akashi-kaikyo bridge (the world longest suspension bridge). You will enjoy footbath and Japanese traditional cityscape in Arima onsen. The tour will start at 13:30 from the KICC and return to the KICC around 19:15. The bus will make a short stop at Sannomiya station at around 19:00 for your convenience. Participants need to sign up at the registration in advance.

Kobe tourist information

A Japanese cooking class and flower arrangement class will be held on Tuesday morning. The Japanese cooking class will be held at Fujikko Co., which is located within walking distance of the KICC. After the Japanese cooking time you will enjoy the cuisine at lunchtime. The flower arrangement class will be held at the KICC room 403. Your flower arrangement masterpiece may be displayed in the venue.
Each class is free and participants need to select one of the classes and sign up at the registration in advance.

A full-day optional tour to Nara will be held on Wednesday. Nara is an ancient Japanese capital (Heijo-kyo) constructed about 1300 years ago. The tour will take you to Todaiji-temple (famous for Japan's largest Buddha statue (Daibutsu)), Kasuga taisha shrine and Horyu-ji temple (the world's oldest surviving wooden structures). In addition to exploring these world heritages, you will enjoy lunch at the famous "Nara Hotel".

The tour will start at 8:20 from the KICC and return to Kobe at around 17:30. The optional tour costs additional fee, and participants need to sign up at the registration in advance.

Nara tourist information

Tea ceremony and calligraphy classes will be held at the beautiful Sourakuen Garden on Thursday morning. The tea ceremony house (tatami room) in front of the Japanese-style garden will be the location for the tea ceremony. Bus transportation will be available between the KICC and Sourakuen Garden.

These classes are free and participants need to sign up at the registration in advance.