FAQ and Small Tips Hotels for October 7th There are several options if you will arrive on Oct. 7th (1) Stay at a hotel in city center Probably a hotel near one of the following Stations are convenient. "Tokyo", "Shinagawa", "Shinguku", "Yokohama" All of them are kinds of hub stations and the down-town. You can get there from Narita Airport directly by JR's Narita Express (NEX) train. And on Oct 8th, you can go to Zushi (the nearest station for the Shonan Village) by JR's train called; - "Airport Narita" Rapid Train (from "Tokyo", "Shinagawa", "Yokohama"), or - "Shonan Shinjuku" Line Train from "Shinjuku" For hotels, there are too many hotels around these stations. The Airport Limousine buses stops some of the major hotels in Tokyo and Yokohama. It usually takes longer than trains and the travel time is heavily affected by the traffic conditions. But it may be convenient as it directly goes in front of the hotel. (2) You can stay at the Shonan Village Center Please make reservation directly Mr. Kei Matsumoto, Shonan Village Center Email: If you will take morning flight out Narita on Oct 13th You can take a Rapid "Airport Narita" train which departing the Zushi Station at 5:11am. This is the direct train to the Narita Airport and arriving the Airport at 7:40am. Taxi from the Center to Zushi Station must be booked a day before at the latest. The front desk of the Center will take care of you to book a taxi. If you will change to NeX at the Ofuna station, you may be able to get the Airport slightly faster. From Zushi, Ofuna is the 3rd Station of the local train, and takes 11-13 minutes. Ofuna - (NEX)- Narita Airport 5:25am 7:18am 6:04am 7:56am 6:22am 8:10am EXCURSION on OCT 10th On the afternoon of October 10th, an Excurssion is planned. We will start from the Center by a chartered bus to Kamakura and have a dinner at Japanese Restaurant called "Hachi no Ki". We will visit Daibutsu (Great Budda) then walk to Hase Temple, from where probably we can enjoy the view for town and sea shore as it is in the middle of a hill. Then we will go to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine by the Bus. (or we may take an Enoden Tram, which runnning along sea side from Hase to Kamakura Station, then walk to the Shrine by walking through Komachi Street, where many smalll local shops of local hand crafts, cafe, restaurants. Two volunteer guides will take us to there. The "Hachi no Ki" is situated near Kita-Kamakura (North Kamakura), where surrounded by quiet but rich green and several small old ZEN temples and their gardens, from 13--16th centuries. Kamakura is one of the popular destinations of one-day trip from Tokyo. (Offten the participants of NTCIR Workshop visit the day after the worrkshop.) It is a historical small town, where the Japan's political metropolitan was situated in late 12-16th century. Many top ZEN teemples are in the area. Also the town is facing sea shore with sand beach and surrounded by green hills and small mountains. There are several walking trails are available through the hills. (You can enjoy walk or hiking on weekend before or after the Workshop, if you like) Great Budda Hase Temple Tsurugaoka HachimanShrine Dinner Image Dinner 18:00- Hachinoki: (One of the Michelin Gide Restaurants) Some tips for sightseeing spots in and around Tokyo There are too many options that you can enjoy. Taking sightseeing tour bus is one of the easiest way. If you are interested in traditional arts; - Kabuki (audio-guide service in English is available) or Museums (Probablly Tokyo is convenient for them) - Asakusa, historical town in Tokyo (also you can visit a new highest tower as well) - Jinbo cho (old book shop street, near NII. Some shops sell old scrolls or Ukkiyoe (wooden Printings) as well. - Imperial Palace Garden and several museums around them (tokyo station is closest. (from Tokyo station to Imperial Palace, it takes 10 minutes on foot)) Also close to NII. If you are interested in Shopping, - Ginza, Marunouchi (in front of Tokyo Station), Shinjuku are good choice. Ginza is also near Tokyo Station and these two are high-ends. If you are interested in electronic equipment or sub-cultures like AKB48 girls singing & dancing team, Manga, Anime, Maid-cafe; - Akihabara Tokyo Station is near. By 2 stops by local train. If you are interested by "theme park", - Tokyo Disney land is situated in between Tokyo and Airport. - Giburi-no-Mori: take a local train from Shinjuku. - Yokohama Port, Park, Western-style houses from Meiji-Era, Largest Chinese Town, Silks shops, shopping and arts, etc. - Around Shonan Village, Kamakura (next station to Zushi) is one of the very popular one-day trip destinations from Tokyo. Historical town with various old temples and shrines, and rich nature both sea shore and hills that you can enjoy walking. - Hakone Great resort in the mountain with a lake and hot spa. - Kyoto Of course, always a great choice is you have longer time. From Tokyo or Shinagawa, it takes 2.5-3 hours by Super Express Train (Shin Kan Sen). - Nikko http://www.nikko-japan.org/ - Ueno http://www.ueno.or.jp/index.html (in Japanese) Hope the above will help you to have some image. If you have any specific interest, please let us know. We will search the good places for it. Taxi / Bus in front of the Zushi station You will find taxis in front of the Zushi station. Please show this card to the driver, and you will reach Shonan Village Center. A one way fare is approximately 3,000 yen. To take a bus for Shonan Village Center, please wait in line at the bus stop 1 until the number 16 bus comes. A one-way fare is 340 yen. Currency Exchange You can find several bank booths in the Narita Airport: http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/svc_11.html The front desk of Shonan Village Center can exchange following kinds of currency to Yen : US Dollar, Euro, Pounds, Canada Dollar, and Australia Dollar. ATM for Credit Cards If you find a JP Bank ATM, the following brands of cards can be used for cash withdrawal: VISA, VISAELECTRON, PLUS, MasterCard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express, Diners Club, JCB, China Unionpay, DISCOVER. JP Bank ATMs are usually in post 〒 offices. There is a Yokohama Bank ATM on the 1st floor of Shonan Village Center. It's available from 9 a.m. to 18 p.m. on weekdays. But it doesn't offer Cash Advance service by credit card Food Restriction We prepared the menu from 9th to 13th. Swimming Pool The swimming pool in Shonan Village Center is available from 7:00 a.m. to 22:00 p.m. Walking Around Shonan Village and Kamakura You can walk or jog around the hiking course. Please keep from the residential area, or you may be lost. .