Japanese power line voltage is 100 V. Therefore, a converter will be needed to use European 230 V. European and other countries’ plugs except for US will not fit and you will need an adapter for Japanese plugs. Bringing a note PC to Japan is easy; most run both 100 and 230 V.

The official language of the workshop is English.

Internet connections by Wireless LAN are available in the conference hall, lobby or foyers on each floor of the International conference center.

If you are a guest of the AWAJI Westin hotel, wireless LAN is available at the 2F Lobby and Moe gallery(10:00-19:00) on 2nd floor. Please ask to hotel staff for more information.
For guest rooms on 4th floor, you can connect to Internet with a LAN cable. For guest rooms on its 5th through 10th floors, you need a modem to connect to Internet. The numbers of modems is limited so please ask to the front desk when you check in.

For guest of Hotel Ebisu, you can connect to Internet at the cafeteria on 1st floor by wireless LAN. Internet connections are not available in guest rooms.

Discount coupons will be provided to conference participants in order to offset the cost of meals at restaurants within the hotel complex. The tickets are free and will be handed out on registration. Coupons are dated and are only valid for the specified date and time. Present the coupon when you order.
Costs in excess of the coupon values should be covered personality and the balance is not refundable. (only one coupon per person per meal)

For Lunch 1,000yen
 @26th  Wednesday Lunch
 @27th  Thursday Lunch
 @28th Friday Lunch

Coupons are not provided for dinner on the 27th (Banquet) and the dinner on the 28th.

Restaurants and a cafe in the Yumebutai offer various dining options to suit your taste within easy walking distance of the conference center.
(see http://www.yumebutai.org/english/food/restaurant.html).

We recommend that you exchange money at the airport because you need a car to get the nearest bank. If you are a guest of the AWAJI Westin hotel, you can exchange money at the front desk. Available only exchange dollars to Yen.

Workshop banquet will be held on the evening of September 27th (Thursday), as a part of cruising tour from Kobe Port to the Akashi Straits. The WIRMS participants will enjoy the night view of the Akashi Straits and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge from a large cruise boat while enjoying a buffet-style dinner. The participants will leave Yumebutai by bus at 5:00 pm. The bus will go through the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge before arriving at Kobe Port, and the cruise boat will leave Kobe Port at 7:30 pm. After the cruise, the participants will come back to Yumebutai by bus again.

SPring-8 (The largest synchrotron radiation facility in the world) site tour (bus trip) will be held on the last day of the workshop, September 29th. After the SPring-8 tour, you may participate in a tour of the Himeji Castle, a World Heritage designated by UNESCO. Please register at the registration desk if you would like to participate. The schedule for the tour is the following.

9:00-11:00: Transportation by bus from Yumebutai to SPring-8.
11:00-14:00: SPring-8 tour (Overview, infrared beamline, XFEL prototype facility) and lunch (SPring-8 cafeteria).
14:00-15:00: Transportation by bus from SPring-8 to Himeji Station (JR train).
15:00-17:00: Tour of the Himeji Castle. (You may leave before the Himeji Castle tour, if you prefer to do so.)

NOTE that the bus will NOT return to the Yumebutai Conference Center. So if you would like to stay at Yumebutai on the night of September 29th, you will have to go back to Yumebutai yourself. Even if you will not go back to Yumebutai, if your flight takes off on September 30th, you will have to find a hotel in Himeji or near your airport for the night of 29th. We recommend that you reserve a hotel in Kobe or Osaka (there are many airport limousine buses from these cities to both Kansai and Osaka Int’l Airports), or near the Airport. (You can also find a hotel in Himeji, but there are much fewer limousine buses from Himeji.) Please contact us if you need assistance in reserving a hotel for the night of September 29th.