The maximum day temperature during June is 26°C and minimum temperature is 19°C. Early summer in Tokyo are usually very pleasant. But you are more than likely to need an umbrella. Please visit the weather page before travelling to Tokyo at the following web sites.

• Tokyo, Japan Weather (The Weather Channel)
• Tokyo Weather (AccuWeather.com)
• Tokyo, Japan (Weather Underground)

In Japan, the rainy season begins in early June and ends in mid July. The term of this MMR conference is chosen to be just before the rainy season, based on the weather data of recent ten years. (Data is available in Japanese only. We are sorry for inconvenience.)

Japan is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+9). This country doesn't have daylight saving time in any region.

All major credit cards are widely accepted in Tokyo, though Visa or Mastercard are slightly more preferable than others, Amex, Diners, etc. If you bring travelers cheques, you are advised to exchange at any bank before usage. A foreign exchange facility is available at all major banks in Tokyo. We note that most of the branches of the banks are open for 9am-3pm on weekdays only, Monday to Friday. ATM services are provided for 24 hours in Tokyo.

The Japan currency is known as the Japanese Yen (JPY). For updated currency rates see the following web sites.

• Currency Converter (Yahoo! Finance)
• Curency Quote (Reuters)

The voltage in Japan is 100 Volt. The frequency is 50 Hz in Tokyo. We use electrical plugs with two flat, identical-sized, non-polarized prongs. The deligates from North America, Central America, or South America may happen to need plug adapters because of the difference in the size of prongs. (Electricity in Japan: the Official Guide provided by Japan National Tourism Organization.)

The train network in Tokyo is slightly complex. To get the feel of the place, first we recommend you to be familiar with Yamanote-Line, a circular line operated by JR East. We split Tokyo as “Inside-Area-of-Yamanote-line” and “Outside-Area-of-Yamanote-Line”. If you keep staying on and/or inside Yamanote-Line, you will take or connect the following lines.

• Yamanote-Line by JR East, which connects major hub stations, Tokyo, Ueno, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Shinagawa.
• Chuo-Line by JR East, which draws a lattitude line from Tokyo to Western Tokyo.
• Sobu-Line by JR East, which draws a attitude line through Tokyo to Eastern Tokyo.
• Tokyo Metro Subway Lines.
• Toei Subway Lines.

In almost all stations, station names are written in Kanji, Hangeul, and English. The announcements in train are provided in Japanese then English.

We have a nation-wide train network operated by JR East which covers the most of Tokyo, two subway networks operated by Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway, which also cover the central Tokyo, and radiating railroads operated by companies, which connect central Tokyo and satellite cities.

• JR East Railway Lines Network Map in English, or JR EAST Railway Lines Network in Kanji.
• Subway Network Map in English, or Subway Network in Kanji.

The delegates are advised to rely on the train route finder services,

• TrainRouteFinder by Jorudan
• HyperdDia by Hitachi Systems
• Google Maps by Google

to solve the optimal route finding problem from your location to your destination.

From Haneda Airport

1. Airport Limousine
2. Railways

From Narita Airport

1. Airport Limousine
2. Railways
   1. Keisei Skyliner
   2. Narita Express(time table)

If your luggage is heavy, we strongly recommend you to get on Airport Limousine, to get off at the stop nearest your accomodation, and then to take a taxicab to your hotel.

Pasmo(issued by private railway companies and bus companies) or Suica (issued by East Japan Railway Company) is a really useful pre-paid smart card for moving around using any trains, subways, and buses. At train stations, there are automatic ticket gates. You can go through by touching the scanner on top of each machine with your card, at both stations, your departure station and your destination station on a railway line. Either one card can be used any line of JR, Private railway, Metro or Bus. (Airport Limousines are not the case.)

“Pasmo” can be purchased at any ticket booth of Private railway or Bus. Besides ticket booth, you can also buy at ticket vending machines at any station in Tokyo area. A ticket booth locates at both Haneda Airport and Narita Airport.

“Suica” can be purchased at any JR Midori-no-Madoguchi in Tokyo. Besides at almost every JR station in Tokyo, JR Midori-no-Madoguchi is available both at Narita Airport Terminal 1 and 2.

A first-time buyer will need to make a returnable deposit of 500 yen (4USD). Selling price starts from 2,000 yen (charge 1500 yen + deposit 500 yen). The amount of the rest and the deposit will be refunded when the card is returned for reimbursement purpose.

You can charge your Suica or Pasmo at any station using ticket vending machines.

If you buy “Pasmo”, you need to return it at any ticket booth of Private railway or Bus. Otherwise you cannot get the refund of your deposit. If you buy “Suica”, you need to return it at any JR Midori-no-Madoguchi. Otherwise you cannot get the refund of your deposit.

• There is a charge of 220 yen to return a Suica card, which is deducted from the total. For refunds, a fee of 220 yen is subtracted from the total (a result of less than zero is considered zero), and then the initial 500 yen deposit is added.

The cab fare is a little bit high in this country, starting from JPY730 (=USD7.12, GBP4.26, EUR5.33, CNY43.76, SPD8.86, KRW7267, roughly) for 2km ride. The precise formula for the cab fare in Tokyo is as follows (as of April, 2014) :

Fare in JPY(mileage in km, minutes under 10km/h)
= 730+ceiling(max(0,(mileage-2)/0.28))*90+floor(minutes*5/3)*90

Distance to the conference venue is about 3.9-4.2 km from Ikebukuro Station, is about 6.6-7.6 km from Shinjuku Station, is about 6.1-8.4 km from Tokyo Station, and is about 6.4-7.1km from Asakusa View Hotel. (All links lead you to Google Maps.)

Website of Japan National Tourism Organization provides general information.