5–9 Sept 2014
Oshu City, Iwate
Japan timezone

General Information

Ōshū (奥州市 Ōshū-shi?) is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2014, the city had an estimated population of 121,284 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area is 993.35  km². Ōshū is famous for its Maesawa Beef, numerous festivals, historic temples and shrines and Fujiwara no Sato, a theme park and movie lot based on the exploits of the Northern Fujiwaras in the 12th century. Many famous people have claimed Ōshū as their home including Ichiro Ozawa, the long-time leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (information from Wikipedia).

Please keep in mind that Japan is very much a cash oriented country. You should be prepared to pay most of your bills (restaurants etc) in cash, and you should plan for this. Obtaining cash with foreign cards is not always easy. Typically only the post offices and (some) 7-11 stores offer this service, most other cash vending machines accept only Japanese cards.

The meeting will take place on the MIZUSAWA Grand Hotel in Oshu City, where also some of the rooms for conference participants are located. The hotel is in easy walking distance to the train station. Many facilities (restaurant, post office, shopping places) are available closeby.
Look here for a map of lunch places.