Cultural program
This info is subject to change without notice.
More info will be published here later.
A full-day excursion to Kamakura, known for the Kamakura period of history of Japan, about 800 years ago. We will experience historical Japanese cultural heritage. Highly educated local volunteers (http://www1.kamakuranet.ne.jp/kwga/default.htm) will guide small groups. We will see old Buddhist temples and some Shinto (traditional religion of Japan) shrines characteristic of Japan.
This is the most interesting excursion of all our cultural program. However, it is quite tiring and will involve a lot of walking. (If you have problems to walk, or have a serious illness, you might consider to take only part of it or skip it.)
Possibly we will arrange for another activity in the evening, after the excursion (starting from the hotel).
NEW Registration for the conference will be at the hotel, on Feb 19, from 7 pm to 8 pm. Those who go to this excursion must register in that time. If you cannot, please contact Alexander in advance.
Important notes:
As the excursion involves a lot of walking, you are advised to prepare good walking shoes or shoes suited for walking.
Kenchoji granted us a special inside tour. You will remove your shoes. It is advised that you put on warm socks.
Kenchoji offered us a special Zazen experience. You will remove your overcoat and socks. Women are strongly advised to wear pants / trousers.
VERY IMPORTANT As there is no parking space for the buses around the hotel, they have to depart on time. Anyone who comes late would be left behind. However, before departure, there will be some important preparation steps, such as distribution in groups, counting, preparing lists of participants, etc. So it is important for you to be at the lobby in time. If you arrive to the lobby later than 7:20 am, then you may me omitted in some list or count and not be allowed in the bus -- even if the bus is still there!
The departure time was slightly changed (as of Feb 12). Please note new time: 7:20 am. This is final arrangement and will not change.
Final schedule outline:
| 07:20 am | get together at the hotel lobby. This is
the starting time of the event: counting, preparing the lists of participants, and other preparation steps. Note: if you miss these steps, you may not be allowed in the bus! |
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| 07:50 | departure by bus (punctual). This is exact time, the bus cannot wait! | ||
| 07:50-09:50 | a long bus ride | ||
| 09:50-10:00 | arrival at Kotokuin parking area (expected) / meeting with KWGA guides | ||
| 10:00-11:00 | group photo / Kotokuin Great Buddha | ||
| 11:10-11:25 | a short bus ride | ||
| 11:30-12:30 | lunch
at Saryo
Inoue (www.inouekamaboko.co.jp/saryo2.html) managed by Inoue Kamaboko Ten (not included in the fee) See the menu below. |
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| 12:30-12:45 | a walk to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu | ||
| 12:45-13:40 | Tsurugaoka Hachimangu | ||
| 13:50-14:00 | a short bus ride | ||
| 14:00-15:45 | special invited tour of Kenchoji including a half-hour Zazen experience | ||
| 15:45-17:45 | a long bus ride | ||
| 17:45 | back to the hotel (time of arrival at the hotel may vary) |
Map of the places we will visit (click to enlarge);
marked are: 5
Great Buddha, 3
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu,
2 Kenchoji.
See more
information (image is from this file).
Lunch at Saryo Inoue: The menu will be traditional Japanese. In particular, most dishes include fish, and specifically surimi. If you are allergic to fish or surimi, or if for any reason you cannot afford eating traditional Japanese food (which may be very different indeed from what you used to), then you can consider bringing your lunch with you and not ordering at this restaurant. However, the local committee highly recommends you to experience this excellent traditional Japanese food if you can. Price is 1200 yen (15 USD, 11 euro) yen per person, and here is your lunch:
It includes (translation is mainly from Wikipedia, but you get the idea):
| 卵焼 | soy-flavoured omelette. Tamagoyaki 卵焼き (also called tamago or dashimaki, literally 'grilled egg') is a type of Japanese omelette, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg. | |
| 胡瓜射込み竹輪 | grilled fish paste cucumber roll. Steamed fish sausage with cucumber. | |
| 高野豆腐 | freeze-dried tofu. Dried Tofu (高野豆腐、凍り豆腐 Koya-dofu/ Koori-dofu). It is very healthy and nutritious. | |
| 南瓜 | pumpkin. Pumpkin (squash). | |
| ヒジキ | hizikia seaweed. Hiziki is a brown sea vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines around Japan, Korea, and China. | |
| 椎茸甘煮 | sweetly simmered shiitake mashroom. Shiitake mushroom compote. | |
| 小海老 | shrimp. Little shrimp. | |
| 京がんも | Kyoto-style deep-fried bean curd. Kyoto style Ganmodoki. Ganmodoki (がんもどき, 雁擬き) is a fried tofu fritter made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds. "Ganmodoki" means "pseudo-goose." This is because ganmodoki is said to taste like goose. "Ganmodoki" is also called "Ganmo" for short. | |
| 鰆南蛮漬け | deep-fried marinated Japanese mackerel. Fried (crispy) Sawara, Japanese Spanish mackerel, in Japanese sweet and peppery vegetable sauce. | |
| 小判揚(さつま揚げ) | fried fish cake. Satsuma age is a fried fish cake from Kagoshima, Japan. MSG may be added. Surimi and flour is mixed to make a compact paste that is solidified through frying. | |
| 茶飯(醤油味の炊き込みご飯) | soy-flavoured steamed rice. Soy source tasted rice boiled with tea. | |
| 漬物 | Japanese pickles. Japanese pickles. | |
| 吸い物 | soup. Japanese soup. | |
| 梅花はんぺん | sour plum flavoured steamed fish cake. Ume blossom shaped hanpen. Ume is Japanese plum tree and Hanpen (半片) is a white, square shaped surimi product with a soft, mild taste. | |
| 三つ葉 | Japanese honewort. Mitsuba/Trefoil. |
This kind of food is prepared only by pre-ordering. For this, we need to know (for sure) whether you will order this lunch; then we will pre-order it in advance for you. The restaurant will only prepare the number of items as pre-ordered. The local committee highly recommends you this restaurant. For this:
NEW Please go to the registration form and indicate there your choice. Please use the same username and password that you used earlier.
Some photos from Kamakura (click to enlarge):
Thanks to your votes, for the morning we have arranged for both options we have previously asked you about. Thus you have two options and you should decide which one you take. For this:
NEW Please go to the registration form and indicate there your choice. Please use the same username and password that you used earlier.
Option A ("Garden"): In the morning, you go on a guided walking excursion to The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. Highly recommended. Very close to the hotel. Led by special volunteer guides. Photos: http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-event/higashigyoen-ph.html; map: http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shisetsu/higashigyoen-map.html. You will have lunch at Nanko Restaurant and the bus takes you to Toshiba Science Museum.
| 09:00-09:15 | meeting and departure from the official
hotel (how to get there). We'll depart on time, don't be late! |
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| 09:15-11:00 | walking tour of The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace | ||
| 11:00-12:00 | lunch at Nanko Restaurant (not included in the fee) | ||
| 12:00-12:15 | departure from designated tour bus parking area in the Imperial Palace Gardens | ||
| 12:15-13:15 | bus ride to Toshiba Science Museum | ||
| 13:30-15:30 | guided tour of Toshiba Science Museum | ||
| 15:45-16:45 | bus ride back to the official hotel |
Please have your clothes adequate for the weather: we will be two hours outdoors.
Opiton B ("Sony"): In the morning, you visit Sony Square, Sony's united showroom. This showroom is not open for general public; only professionals who conduct business with Sony can visit it, and only as a special guided tour. We expect that they will show Sony's newest products in professional and consumer electronics. You have lunch and go to the Toshiba Science Museum by bus.
| 08:45-09:00 | meeting and departure from official
hotel. The bus will depart on time -- if you are not there at 8:45, you risk to be left behind. |
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| 09:00-09:45 | bus ride to Sony Square | ||
| 10:00-11:00 | a special tour inside Sony Square | ||
| 11:15-12:15 | lunch at nearby restaurants (not included in the fee) | ||
| 12:15-12:30 | meeting and departure from Sony Square by bus | ||
| 12:30-13:15 | bus ride to Toshiba Science Museum | ||
| 13:30-15:30 | guided tour of Toshiba Science Museum | ||
| 15:45-16:45 | bus ride back to the official hotel |
You will be back at the hotel around NEW 16:45. We may (or may not) still manage to arrange for other impromptu activities in the night, to be announced later. If you have any suggestion for such an activity, and preferably can offer your help in organizing it, please contact Alexander.
In the morning (leaving about 8:25 am) we will visit the Lucky Dragon 5 boat museum: a Japanese boat exposed to and contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear device test on March 1, 1954. This was the 5th largest nuclear explosion in history, about 1,200 times more powerful than each of the atomic bombs which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
In the afternoon we will take a professionally organized bus tour of Tokyo, returning at 17:30 pm. This tour should be very interesting, too. Places to visit (tentative):
We may (or may not) be able to organize more activities in the night.
Important: As the excursion involves a lot of walking, you are advised to prepare good walking shoes or shoes suited for walking.
Final schedule outline:
| 08:10-08:25 | NEW meeting and departure from the lobby of Hotel Villa Fontaine (our official hotel) | ||
| 08:25-09:00 | Kudanshita to Shinkiba by Tokyo Metro Subway | ||
| 09:05-09:20 | walk from Shinkiba station to Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibit Museum | ||
| 09:30-10:30 | Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibit Museum | ||
| 11:00-12:00 | Lunch at the restaurant of BumB (not included in the fee), a few minutes walk to the parking area | ||
| 12:30-17:30 | Hato Bus Tour, returns to Hotel Villa Fontaine (our official hotel) |
Legal disclaimer: The cultural program activities will be organized not professionally but by volunteers. No special insurance, medical service, or security measures will be provided. In particular, the participants are advised to arrange with a third party for their travel insurance that includes medical coverage. The participants will take part in all activities entirely at their own risk. The organizers shall not be liable for any illness, injuries, stolen objects, or any other problems that the participants may face during the cultural or academic program of the conference. This note does not imply any particular danger for CICLing attendees; this is a standard legal disclaimer that most conferences would implicitly make, in any place of the world. In fact, Japan is a very safe country and people are friendly and helpful.