Tokyo Convention Bureau (www.tcvb.co.jp/en) represents 350 local industry partners and is a helpful resource for international planners. The bureau recently launched its Meeting Planners Guide 2010, with information on convention venues, hotels, off-site venues, cultural attractions and local travelindustry partners.

Bureau staff are also available to accompany visiting planners on site inspections, liaise on their behalf with the relevant authorities and provide recommendations when required. The city recently won its bid to host the 2014 Asia Pacific Congress of Nephrology and a 10,000-strong direct-sales incentive group from China will visit in waves in October.

New developments
Access to Narita International Airport has improved with the opening of Narita Sky Access, a high-speed train that connects travellers from Tokyo in 36 minutes.

Visas for Chinese delegates are now easier to obtain with the relaxing of restrictions, a doubling of the number of government offices in China and an additional 250 agencies able to coordinate the process.

Interesting venues
Roppongi Academyhills occupies the 40th and 49th floors of the Roppongi Hills complex – providing a conference setting with spectacular views across Tokyo. The main conference venue seats 505 delegates theatre style and the auditorium seats 150. There are also 12 additional rooms seating up to 70 people each with 4,500 sqm of space.

Tokyo’s famous gardens and shrines are a popular option for off-site events. Happo-en (700 guests for a reception), Chinzan-so (1,500) and Meiji Kinenkan (800) are three of the most well-equipped venues.

Cultural spots include the entrance halls of the Tokyo National Museum (200) and Museum of Contemporary Art (1,000). For a true Tokyo experience, host your event in a sumo stable or simply watch them practice.

Further afield
Tokyo’s neighbouring prefectures also offer attractive facilities for international events. Chiba contains Narita airport as well as many golf courses and Tokyo Disney Resort.

To the southwest of the capital is Yokohama, which offers its own world-class convention facility Pacifico Yokohama. The venue features a recently upgraded conference centre for 1,000 delegates, a 5,000-seat convention hall, 20,000 sqm exhibition hall, meeting rooms and a large landscaped lawn.

Tokyo is also well-connected to the rest of Japan by air and high-speed rail links.