Tue. 30 Apr. 12:50 JST 2013
The venue is Hotel BlueWave Inn Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is located just two subway stations south of the Japan Rail (JR) Sapporo Station. The hotel is a modern, medium-sized business hotel with conference room facilities. Our workshop room is located on the 2nd floor. Please pay the registration fee in cash upon arrival.
Wifi will be available in the workshop room and LAN in the guest rooms (ask reception for a cable if none in room). A choice of rooms is available through the workshop registration form.
Directions: The most convenient station close to the Blue Wave Inn Sapporo is Susukino (すすきの). From Chitose airport, take the JR airport train to Sapporo station and change there to the Nanboku subway line (地下鉄南北線) headed for Makomanai (真駒内). Susukino is the second station. The trip from the airport takes just under an hour. At Susukino station take exit 5. When you come out, turn right and walk south. At the third traffic lights turn right. The hotel is on the second block on your right.
View AGN Workshop 2013 access map in a larger map
Tue. 30 Apr. 13:13 JST 2013
Climate: The average temperature in Sapporo in August is 18-26℃. August is also relatively rainy, but we hope for good weather.
History and geography: Hokkaido (literally northern sea way) is the northernmost of the main islands of Japan. Its mountainous terrain and vast plains endows it with a natural scenery quite different - some say more European - from that on other islands of Japan. Hokkaido was originally settled by the Ainu people and called Ezochi. In medieval times, the Ainu remained fairly isolated, but since the Muromachi period (1336~1573) they were submitted to feudal rule and the Tokugawa Shogunate took complete control over the island toward the end of the Edo period (1603~1868) . With the Meiji restoration (1968), Ezochi was renamed Hokkaido, and a Development Commission was set up to modernise and develop Hokkaido to guard against Russian invasion.
The capital of Hokkaido, Sapporo, is a relatively new city in Japan, founded in 1868, and the name derives from the Ainu meaning "dry great river". With the help of government advisors from America, the city expanded during the Meiji era according to a grid-shaped plan still evident today. A western agricultural sector, notably in cattle and dairy products, developed, benefiting from the comparatively flat geography of the Ishikari plains Sapporo is located in. Sapporo is known internationally for having hosted the 1973 winter Olympics, and domestically also for its annual Snow Festival.
Cuisine and dining: Hokkaido is famous for its good seafood, especially sea-urchin, crab, muscles, salmon (and its roe) and you will find many good sushi restaurants in the city. Sapporo is also famous for inventing the Miso Ramen (noodle soup), and for brewing Sapporo beer. The ramen alley, "Sapporo Ramen Yokocho", is located in Susukino, and there is a Sapporo Beer Museum in Sapporo Garden Park. There are many restaurants near our conference venue in the Susukino area, as well as near Sapporo station. For a (map-searchable) list of restaurants see: Sapporo Restaurants
Places of interest: There is a range of attractions in Hokkaido which are worth visiting if you have time, including the Hokkaido University campus, the iconic Clock Tower, the Old Hokkaido Government Building, the Sapporo TV Tower, and many nice parks. A good reference to choose points of interest from is here: Things to do in Sapporo
Our hotel will also happily provide information for exploring the city.