Travel Information & Links

GENERAL INFORMATION

Tokyo, Your Host City
From abroad, Tokyo, along with Osaka, is a major gateway to Japan. It is the capital of Japan and the center of national administration, education and finance. Tokyo is a highly developed metropolis, similar to New York and London. Tokyo Bay opens to the east and the Pacific Ocean; the fertile Kanto Plain lies on the north side of Tokyo. It has a population of 12.3 million. As people continue to flow into the city, surrounding cities and towns are changing into teeming residential areas. Tokyo is endowed with every modern convenience, enabling overseas visitors to feel at ease. It serves as the hub of a nationwide transportation system with an extensive network of urban trains and subways crisscrossing the city.

Climate
The climate of beginning of September in Tokyo is warm, sometimes hot, with the average high temperatures at 82.4°F / 28°C and average low temperatures at 73.4°F / 23°C.

Currency
The currency used in Japan is yen. Foreign currency or traveler's checks can be changed to yen at major banks, hotels, or airports. Only Japanese yen is accepted at stores and restaurants. It is necessary to show your passport when changing traveler's checks. Bills come in units of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen, and coins in units of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 yen. The approximate exchange rate for U. S. $1 is 116.79 Yen (as of July 2002).

Traveler's Checks and Credit Cards
Traveler's checks are not as popular in Japan as in some other countries. They are usually accepted only by leading banks and major hotels. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Diners Club cards are widely accepted at hotels, department stores, shops, and restaurants.

Tax and Tipping
There is no custom of individual tipping in Japan. Instead, a service charge will be included in the bill where applicable. A 5% sales tax applies to almost all consumer goods made in Japan.

ACCESS & TRANSPORTATION

Please print out the following and then check them and bring with you: page1 page2

In order to go to Forest Hongo hotel, please bring this page3 and show it to the taxi driver if necessary.
In order to go to Hotel Kizankan, please bring this page3 and show it to the taxi driver if necessary.
From Narita Airport to the venue:
There are two candidates to get to the places. You might choose one of the following.

You can take Skyliner (Keisei line) from Narita Airport to Keisei-Ueno station (Skyliner from Narita Airport to Keisei-Ueno takes about 1 hour and costs 1,920 yen). And from there, take a taxi to your hotel or to the university (about 800 yen). If you are accustomed to walk a few hundred meters, take an Oedo Line subway from Ueno-okachimachi to Hongo-sanchome (160 yen). However, you should carefully check a map around Keisei-Ueno stations and this way is not recommended since you might have a lot of luggage.
First take Narita Express (JR line) from Narita Airport to Tokyo station. This takes about 1 hour and costs about 3,000 yen. Then take Marunouchi Line subway from Tokyo station to Hongo-sanchome station. This takes about 10 minutes and costs 160 yen.

Around the venue (from subway stations to ERATO Office):
Here is the map around the venue.

(Subway station->Red Gate): From Hongo-sanchome Station go along Hongo-dori Street toward the University of Tokyo. About 350 meters after passing the police box (KOBAN in Japanese) you will see on the right-hand side of the street the so-called Red Gate (Aka-Mon in Japanese) of the University of Tokyo. It resembles an old entrance to a temple and is colored brown. This is one of the entrances to the Hongo Campus of the University and one of the ways to reach the Sanjo Conference Hall. (However, you can also enter the campus by the main gate, which is 300 meters further along Hongo-dori Street.)
(Red Gate -> the Office): If you do not go in through the Red Gate, keep walking a further 50 meters along Hongo-dori Street until you see, at the end of a short cul-de-sac to your left, a white three-story building(see the map). The ERATO Quantum Computation and Information Project office is on the second floor.
(Red Gate-> Sanjo Hall): After entering the campus by the Red Gate, walk straight ahead for about 100 meters until you reach a garden. Turn left in front of the garden, and proceed on paved roads along the edge of a forest. Keeping the forest on your right for a few hundred meters, turn right at the northern end of the forest to a downhill slope, then right again after another few hundred meters. You will then see the Sanjo Hall on the uphill slope, adjacent to the eastern edge of the forest.

LINKS

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