Venue and Travel Information

0. Useful Information about Kyoto and around the Venue

Travel Guide

  Kyoto City Official Travel Guide

  City of Kyoto Visitors Host

Restaurants in Kyoto and around the Venue
  Online Reservation of Restaurants in Kyoto

Restaurant maps around the venue provided by GURUNAVI

1. Venue

The conference will be held in the 1st Exhibition Hall on B1 floor at Miyakomesse in Okazaki, Kyoto, Japan. It is located near "Heian Jingu Shrine" in the central part of the city. You can see the venue on the Google Map. Kyoto is often called the "Japanese heartland", and it is said that it is impossible to know the real Japan without knowing Kyoto. For over 1,000 years, Kyoto was the capital of Japan, the heart of culture and politics. Furthermore, Kyoto is unique within Japan in that it was virtually untouched during World War II, leaving a myriad of temples, shrines and a castle intact. This legacy has been recognized by UNESCO, which has designated seventeen separate sites within Kyoto's borders as Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto of World Cultural Heritage sites.

Natural scenery, temples, shrines, towns and houses intermingle with a poignant historical beauty in Kyoto. Tea ceremony, Japanese flower arrangement, Nishijin-brocade, and many other unique Japanese traditional cultures and industries continue to thrive in Kyoto.

2. Travel Information

Weather
Average temperatures in October in Kyoto range from a high of 22.9 degrees to a low of 13.6 degrees with an average of 17.8 degrees in Centigrade.

Access to Kyoto
The nearest international airport to Kyoto is Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Osaka. Haneda (HND) and Narita (NRT) international airports in Tokyo and Nagoya (NGO) international airport have convenient access to Kyoto, by using a domestic flight to Itami (ITM) or Kobe (KBE).
Or, you can take a bullet train, "SHINKANSEN", between Tokyo and Kyoto (less than 2 hours 20 min.) or Nagoya and Kyoto (about 35 min.).

Trains to Kyoto

From Kansai International Airport (KIX) to Kyoto Station

  1. Take Kansai Airport Express train "Haruka" operated by West Japan Railway Company. The station is in the airport. It runs every 30 - 60 minutes and takes about 75 - 90 minutes to Kyoto station. The reserved seat ticket costs 3,080 Yen (may variable by season), and the non-reserved seat ticket 2,770 Yen.
  2. Airport Limousine bus service to "Hachijo" Exit of Kyoto station is available. It runs about every 30-50 minutes. and takes about 90 min. The cost is 2,550 Yen.
  3. You can access directly to the venue and most of hotels in Kyoto city by Shuttle Omnibus service. The cost is 4,200 Yen. Please refer to the links below for more detailed information and reservation.

    Kansai Airport website: http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/index.asp

From Osaka International (Itami) Airport (ITM) to Kyoto Station

  1. There exists Airport Limousine bus service to "Hachijo" Exit of Kyoto station at every 20 minutes. The bus stop is in front of the airport exit. It takes about 50 min., and the cost is 1,310 Yen.
  2. You can access directly to the venue and most of hotels in Kyoto city by Shuttle Omnibus service. The cost is 2,900 Yen. Please refer to the link below for more detailed information and reservation.

    Osaka Airport website: http://www.osaka-airport.co.jp/en/

Kansai Area Map



Kyoto Area Map



From Kyoto Station to your hotel, Miyakomesse, or else

  1. The official English guide for city bus and subway "Kyoto City Bus & Subway Information Guide" is available at
    https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kotsu/webguide/en/index.html
  2. Inside most central part of the city, city bus costs 230 Yen per ride, which you should pay on your getting off. The bus has an English voice/character guide, but you should not expect that the driver understands English.
  3. Taxies are always waiting for passengers just outside of the both "Main" (called "Karasuma") and "Hachijo" Exits of the Kyoto station. No tipping is necessary in Japan. You should not expect that the driver understands English. It would be better for you to prepare written information or map to your destination to show the driver.
  4. From Kyoto Station to Miyakomesse: You can take Kyoto City Bus #5 (to "Iwakura Soshajo Mae"), #100 (to "Jingu-michi") from the busstop just outside of the "Main" ("Karasuma") Exit of the Kyoto station. It will be about 1/2 hour ride, depending on traffic condition. You should get off at the stop "Okazaki Koen Bijutsukan/Heian Jingu Mae" (Museum of Art/Heian-jingu Shrine), next to the stop "Higashiyama Sanjo".

3. Practical Information

Currency and Money Exchange
The unit of Japanese currency is "Yen". There are four kinds of bills (10,000 Yen, 5,000 Yen, 2,000 Yen, 1,000 Yen) and six kinds of coins (500 Yen, 100 Yen, 50 Yen, 10 Yen, 5 Yen, 1 Yen). Only Japanese Yen (JPY) is acceptable at ordinary stores and restaurants. The exchange rate of Japanese Yen is about 110 yen to one US dollar as of September 2017. You can buy Japanese Yen at international airport exchange centres or at authorized city banks (office hours is limited on week days) in Japan.

VAT
VAT (value added tax) of 8% is included in all goods purchased in Japan.

Traveller's Checks and Credit Cards
Traveller's checks are accepted only by airport exchange centres, leading banks, and major hotels; and the use of traveller's checks is not popular in Japan. VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club, and American Express are widely accepted at shops and restaurants in urban areas. Many ATMs in Japan do not accept foreign credit cards for cash advances. We recommend you to exchange your currency into Japanese Yen when you arrive at the Kansai (KIX) or Itami (ITM) airport or obtain Japanesse Yen in your own country.

Electricity
Electricity is supplied at 100 volts, 60 Hz AC in western Japan including Kyoto and Osaka.

4. Optional Tours

Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd. has an English Webpage for Tours and Hotels at https://www.yokosojapan-tour.com/, and you can find a list of optional tours which fit your selected requests (place, date, attractions, ...) at https://www.yokosojapan-tour.com/en/tours. You could make reservation for your favorite optional tour(s) through this page.