On September 2nd, the in-person edition of Tourism Expo Japan will take place after 4 years of hiatus.

Organized by The Japan Tourism Association, Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), and Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Tourism Expo Japan 2022, one of the largest travel-related trade fairs in Japan will take place at Tokyo Big Sight for four days from September 22 to 25. This will be the 8th time Tourism Expo Japan to be held in Tokyo.

Under the theme of “Restart – the New Era Challenge” exhibitors from more than 70 countries and regions around the world and 47 prefectures in Japan will participate, aiming to contribute to the recovery of travel demand, the revival and regeneration of the tourism industry, and the economy in order to help revive the tourism industry, which was severely damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the pandemic, new types of resources and initiatives have been developed taking into account the diversity of ways to enjoy travel, including sustainable tourism.

Each booth will have special events promoting the regional specialties and features.

The first-time exhibitor – the Taisetsu area, centered in Asahikawa City in Hokkaido, will be offering VR experience of winter camping making it possible to enjoy a virtual experience of the heavy snow area while sitting in a camping chair.

The Saudi Arabian National Tourism Organization will be exhibiting for the first time from overseas. A photo booth for chroma key photography will be set up, allowing visitors to take photos with their favorite Saudi Arabian scenery in the background.

The lifestyle exhibition “Fes Liaison” will take place in Omotesando starting from September 25th.

OMNIMOSOUQ, a brand production and consulting company, will organize a lifestyle exhibition “Fes Liaison” at Lightbox Studio Aoyama, Omotesando, Tokyo, for three days from September 25 to 27.

The exhibition will feature a carefully selected range of products helping to enhance visitors’ lifestyles, including fashion and beauty goods that are gentle on the body and environmentally friendly, and healthy foods that they can incorporate into their daily diet.

The goal is to create new values and a culture in which these values are seen as commonplace.

The event will serve as a platform for those who are curious about new products in the healthy lifestyle market.

Participating brands include Koganeiro, PR Essence, JOE’S TEA / H!P CHOCOLATE, hanakaho (Beauty House Haru), COCOFUL, miratoami, Curian Cherie, Matsumoto Bee Farm, Fine Graphene, zero chemical organic, HIMEMIKO, Natural Vege Food Linio, NOSHINKU, Replug, miso meal japan, Dr. Eberhardt, SoulSoils, TAEKO, Manabuwell.m, Seed oil LAB., OJIZO. COFFEE, initiator, REVORN, Medical CBD, SHIROTSUKI, merrili, N h e s., TBCL, Chandeleur, PaPa Dry fruit, liflance, nanosolCC, LaLaCo , THETAPLUS, waffle haramaki, seasukii and others.

Okinawa MICE Seminar & Business Meeting was held after 3-year hiatus

Okinawa Prefecture and the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau held the “Okinawa MICE Seminar & Business Meetings in Osaka and Tokyo” on September 6 and 8, 2022.

The event took place at the Umeda Center Building on the 6th and at the Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan on the 8th, both from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

This is the first in-person MICE seminar/business meeting to be held outside Okinawa in three years presenting 25 exhibitors in the Osaka venue and 30 in Tokyo and is targeted at travel agencies and PCOs involved in MICE planning and sales, with the aim of attracting more MICE events to Okinawa.

G7 Summit in Hiroshima: details of maintenance and renovation projects.

On September 2nd, the City of Hiroshima announced a supplementary budget proposal for the G7 Hiroshima Summit taking place next May.

The G7 is a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of seven countries, consisting of Japan, US, Canada, France, UK, Germany, Italy and the European Union.

Of the proposed supplementary budget, 20,141,655 USD was allocated for the G7 Hiroshima Summit.

The breakdown is as follows:

(1) Communication enhancement of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (including a multilingual homepage supporting major languages ​​of G7 participating countries)

(2) Renovation of the International Conference Center (installing western-style toilets);

(3) Renewal of tourist signs;

(4) Roadside and park tree trimming;

(5) Environmental improvement of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park;

(6) Contribution to the Hiroshima Heliport Improvement Project;

(7) Road Environment Improvement

(8) Sewerage System Environment Improvement

For details, refer to the Hiroshima City homepage.

Tokyo International Gift Show Autumn 2022, Japan’s largest international trade fair for personal gifts and household items, LIFE×DESIGN focusing on renovation, design and manufacturing, and Gourmet & Dining Style Show were held simultaneously at Tokyo Big Sight from September 7 to 9, 2022.

The theme was “Omni-Channel for the Revival of the Japanese Economy”.

The total number of exhibitors was 1986 including 305 international companies.

The exhibition featured a wide range of products and services, including stationery, homeware, digital gadgets for daily life and business, furniture, interior solutions, building and renovation items, regional food and beverages, and craft liquor, among others, all of which attracted active business discussions and information gathering.

METAVERSE EXPO JAPAN 2022 took place at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo on July 27 and 28, 2022, and was organized by Meta.

This time the event was in invitation-only format for the media representatives and related parties, but it will be open to the public at CEATEC 2022, which is scheduled to take place at Makuhari Messe for four days starting from October 18, 2022.

The exhibition will feature products and services related to the metaverse, as well as a conference with invited experts.

In recent years, numerous companies have entered the metaverse business, and there has been no shortage of announcements of metaverse-related products and services such as virtual space platforms, VR and AR devices, 5G networks, and NFT and crypto assets.

Against this backdrop, various companies, organizations, and government agencies that drive the metaverse business will come together and work as one to communicate the present and future vision of the metaverse.

Organizers and sponsors are Meta, CyberMetaverse Productions, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., NTT Docomo, PwC Consulting, Softbank and Toppan Printing.

Supported by Mori Building and Nikkei Inc.

Alongside exhibitors were BNE Entertainment, CyberAgent Inc., HIKKY, The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Microsoft Japan, Rakuten Mobile, TV Tokyo and others.

20,000 Fireworks of the Minato Mirai Smart Festival.

On August 2 in Yokohama, the music and fireworks of Minato Mirai Smart Festival 2022 took place after 3 years of hiatus.

Venues of the event included Rinko Park, Cupnoodles Museum Park and Hammerhead.

One of the highlights was the performance by Tsuduki Taiko the drumming group active mainly in Yokohama, followed by the Sky Symphony presented by COLOWIDE as a final act.

On the day of the event, NTT East provided support for guidance and verification using congestion control tools and flow analysis data to help event operators understand the congestion situation in nearby areas.

Comic Market was held at Tokyo Big Sight from August 13 to 14 with this summer edition taking place for the first time after 3-year hiatus.

The total number of participants for this 100th edition was more than 170,000 people.

The maximum number of visitors per day was determined according to the Tokyo Big Sight’s guidelines and was relaxed from 55,000 (previous event) to 85,000 for this year.

Regarding the wearing of masks, it was announced that masks should be worn indoors but not required outdoor given the fact that social distance is being maintained.

Osaka’s first castle event, Osaka Castle Fest 2022 took place at the Knowledge Capital Congres Convention Center at Grand Front Osaka for three days from August 12 to 14. The event was organized by the executive committee of TVO and Congres.

Osaka Castle Fest was part of the 40th anniversary of TV Osaka celebration.

The decision to hold this event was made against the backdrop of a recent boom in visiting castles alongside a raising number of tourism campaigns and regional events.

Representatives of Kudoyama Sanada Museum, Nara University, Kyoto University of Advanced Science, Tenri University and Hanazono University were presenting on the seminar stage.

Visitors enjoyed valuable talks including the stage appearance of Shogo Imamura, author of the 166th Naoki Sanjugo Prize-winning book, “Saio no Tate”.

In the Osaka Castle Tower Special Exhibition, reproduction materials owned by the Osaka Castle Tower were displayed as well, including full-scale replicas of the demons from the reconstruction tower.

Tokyo Big Sight Ariake Exhibition Hall is set to open in spring 2023

Tokyo Big Sight Inc. announced the opening of the Ariake Exhibition Hall in spring 2023, as a post-use of the Ariake Gymnastics Stadium used for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The project is developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a part of the promotional program for the small and medium-sized businesses in Tokyo.

The facility is nicknamed Ariake GYM-EX. The name combines the name of the location (Ariake), the history of the facility as a gymnastics stadium (GYMnastics), and the fact that it is an exhibition hall (EXhibition)