Local Information

How to get Matsue:
(a) By Air:
There are two local airports near Matsue-City; Izumo Airport and Yonago Airport. There are bus services to Matsue from both of the airports and it takes about 40 minutes.
It will take 80 minutes to Izumo and Yonago airports from Tokyo (Haneda Airport), and 50 minutes to Izumo airport from Osaka (Itami Airport).
You should notice that there are no flights from both of the Narita Airport (New Tokyo International Airport) and Kansai International Airport to Izumo and Yonago. There is bus transportation between Narita Airport and Honeda Airport. It takes about 80 minutes and the price is 3,000 Japanese yen (the price may be changed). There is also bus transportation between Kansai Airport and Itami Airport, each 30 minutes. It takes about 80 minutes and price is 1,700 Japanese yen (the price may be changed).

We would like to summarize your travel by air:

[Your gate is Narita(Tokyo).]
1. From Narita airport to Haneda airport by bus (80 minutes)
2. From Haneda airport to Izumo or Yonago airport by air (80 minutes)
3. From Izumo or Yonago airport to Matsue by bus (40 minutes)

[Your gate is Kansai(Osaka).]
1. From Kansai airport to Itami airport by bus (80 minutes)
2. From Itami airport to Izumo airport by air (50 minutes)
3. From Izumo airport to Matsue by bus (40 minutes)

(b) By Train(JR, Japan Railways):
(i) From Tokyo:
You have to change the trains twice, at Tokyo Station and Okayama Station. At first you go to Tokyo Station from Narita Airport by the Limited Express "Narita Express". When you arrive Tokyo Station, you change to the train "Shin-Kansen" ("Nozomi" or "Hikari") and go to Okayama Station. Nozomi is faster and (a little) more expensive than Hikari. At Okayama Station, you should change to the train "Yakumo" or "Super-Yakumo".

We would like to summarize your travel by train:

1. From Narita Airport To Tokyo by "Narita Express" (one hour)
2. From Tokyo To Okayama by "Nozomi" or "Hikari" (3.3 hours or 4 hours)
3. From Okayama To Matsue by "Yakumo" or "Super-Yakumo" (2.5 hours)

The price of the train ticket (one way) from Narita Airport to Matsue is about 22,000 Japanese yen.

(ii) From Osaka (Kansai Airport) :
You have to change the trains twice, at Shin-Osaka Station and Okayama Station. At first you go to Shin-Osaka Station from Kansai Airport by the Limited Express "Haruka". When you arrive Shin-Osaka Station, you change to the train "Shin-Kansen" ("Nozomi" or "Hikari") and go to Okayama Station. Nozomi is faster and (a little) more expensive than Hikari. At Okayama Station, you should change to the train "Yakumo" or "Super-Yakumo".

We would like to summarize your travel by trains:

1. From Kansai Airport To Shin-Osaka by "Haruka" (one hour)
2. From Shin Osaka To Okayama by "Nozomi" or "Hikari" (40 minutes or one hour)
3. From Okayama To Matsue by "Yakumo" or "Super-Yakumo" (2.5 hours)

The price of the train ticket (one way) from Kansai Airport to Matsue is about 13,000 Japanese yen.

Travel visa:

Visas are not required for attending the conference if your country has "Visa Exemption Arrangements" with Japan. The following is an informal list of nationals of countries with reciprocal visa exemption arrangements with Japan:
Singapore, Brunei, Canada, U.S.A., Mexico, Argentina, Bahamas, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Suriname, Uruguay, Barbados, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Andorra, Czech Rep., Estonia, Hungary, Latovia, Lithuania, Monaco, Poland, New Zealand, Israel, Turkey, Lesotho, Mauritius, Tunisia
You should check your case at the following site by yourself:
http://www.infojapan.org/

Excursion:
The organizing committee is planning a half-day tour on the afternoon of 26th of June. In our plan, we will go to Izumo Grand Shrine and Hino-Misaki. Izumo Grand Shrine is of great importance in the history of Japan. Hino-Misaki is on the coast of Japan sea and close to Izumo Shrine. There is a light house at Hino-Misaki and you can go up at the top of the light house. The view from the light house is very beautiful. The fee of the excursion will be about 3,000 Japanese yen.

Sight Seeing in Matsue:
Matsue is an old and beautiful city of about 150,000 people, located on Shinji Lake in the western part of Honshu Island, very near the Sea of Japan, and about 300km north-west from Osaka. Matsue provides many opportunities for sightseeing. Near historic Matsue Castle in the center of the city, is a Buke-Yashiki (=Samurai house) and the Lafcadio Hearn Museum. There are also many old shrines (e.g. Yaegaki shrine, Kamosu shrine, etc.) in Matsue. (Kamosu shrine is the oldest Taisha Zukuri shrine, and it is a National Treasure.)
Also near Matsue is the distinguished Shimane Prefectural Museum opened in April, 2000 and is located by Shinji-Lake, which itself affords many beautiful views. The sea of Japan can be easily visited via a 40 minute bus ride. The seacoast is very rugged and beautiful, the color of the water is blue-green, and you can swim there. You may see the further information on Matsue at :

http://www.city.matsue.shimane.jp/index_e.htm