ICPS conference 2020

[Marcel van den Broek]

13th ICPS Conference

May 22−24, 2020

Himeji, Japan

 

^{Himeji Castle. Cropped image from photo © Corpse Reviver / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 GFDL.}

 

The ICPS Conference 2020 will be held in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture from Friday, May 22 to Sunday, May 24, 2020. The city is renowned for Himeji Castle, a world heritage site that proudly represents the beauty of Japanese castles. Also, there is the Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center in the vicinity (about a 45-minute drive), which has a world-class carnivorous plant collection. Himeji is accessible from Kansai International Airport or from Tokyo by “Shinkansen” bullet train.

The 3-day conference will be held at a conference facility known as “Biz Space,” located a 7-minute walk from Himeji Station and within walking distance of several major hotels. The lectures will cover a wide range of topics such as scientific/academic research, horticulture, conservation, etc.

We are planning to bring in English-Japanese interpreters so that more Japanese members can participate in the conference.

Plant displays and sales booths, including a Japanese top-class CP nursery, will be available in the same building during the conference.

The conference banquet is to be held on May 23 or 24 at a near-by restaurant, where you can enjoy a good mix of Japanese and Western cuisines together with an impressive nighttime view of Himeji Castle.

On May 25, we are planning a special day trip to the Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center. We will be guided through the amazing collections of Nepenthes, Sarracenia, and other carnivorous plants in the spectacular carnivorous plant greenhouse as well as the backyard. You will be meeting the giant N. clipeata and N. pervillei that were introduced in the 2018 ICPS conference.

On May 26, we will enjoy an excursion to see the local habitats of Drosera rotundifolia, D. tokaiensis, and D. lunata, and maybe a few Utricularia, and then a trip to Tokyo for an overnight stay. On the following day (May 27), we will visit the habitat of Pinguicula ramosa, the Japanese endemic butterwort, on Mt. Nyoho, Nikko City. Note that it might be too early to see the flowers. Details including dates of the field trips will be finalized shortly.

The 2020 ICPS Conference will be hosted by the three Japanese CP societies: The Japanese Carnivorous Plant Society (JCPS), The Carnivorous Plant Exploration Society (CPES), and The Tokai Carnivorous Plant Society (TCPS). These 3 societies mainly cover the Kanto, Kansai, and Tokai regions, respectively, and have been collaborating with each other and contributing to the prevalence and awareness of carnivorous plants in Japan.

More information on the conference will be posted when it becomes available. 

We are looking forward to seeing you in Himeji in May 2020!

 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by Marcel van den Broek

[Marcel van den Broek]

ICPS conference Japan postponed.

 

Currently infection to the new coronavirus is spreading on a global scale. WHO assessed this situation as a pandemic. The US declared a state of emergency yesterday. Japan is now ready to declare the same, as the pertinent law was approved by the Diet.

We cannot expect change for the better. Therefore, the organizer team would like to postpone 13th ICPS Conference - Japan by 1 year.

We will aim at holding the conference in May 2021. However, we may reconsider it depending on the situation.

As for refund of the paid registration fees, please refer to the conference home page.

This conference page may take a couple of days to update.

 

The Japanese CP societies.

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Marcel van den Broek

[Marcel van den Broek]

Due to the current situation of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the 13th ICPS-conference in Himeji, Japan is postponed to May 2022.

Specific information will be announced at a later time.

[Marcel van den Broek]

Due to the globally continuing health concerns with the COVID19 pandemic and related restrictions to travelling, the 13th ICPS World Conference organizer team has decided to postpone the conference by another year.

Infections by coronavirus, especially the omicron variant, still continues in many countries including Japan. As a result, non-Japanese nationals are currently suspended from entering Japan. It is unlikely that this restriction will be fully lifted by this coming May.

Notwithstanding the recent circumstances, there are some encouraging news suggesting calming down of the pandemic in 2022. According to Health authorities including WHO, the public health emergency can end within 2022.

Our new plan is to hold the conference in Himeji City in May-June of next year. We will announce the specific dates as soon as we have reserved the venue.

We appreciate your kind understanding and look forward to meeting/seeing you in Himeji in 2023.

13th ICPS World Conference Organizer Team

[Marcel van den Broek]

Our Japanese friends are going for it in 2023.

Here is the latest.

 

We have updated the web pages of the 13th ICPS Conference – Japan. Please visit the URLs:

There are two new pieces of information.

1. The N. truncate grown in Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center (HPFC) won the Guinness World Record of the longest Nepenthes pitcher trap on August 20, 2022. A day trip to HPFC is planned on the following day (May, 29) after the conference. You can see the stabilized specimen of the pitcheras well as amazing CP collections in HPFC.

(Please note that the N. truncata photo posted on the web page was taken on an earlier date than the Guinness official measurement.)

2. The border measures against COVID-19 was significantly relaxed by the government in October 2022. Since then, we can see many foreign tourists in major cities and tourist spots in Japan. However, if there are still any codes of conduct recommended by the government against COVID-19 as of May 2023, we will follow them.

The updated web pages also have supplemental information on the 2 botanical gardens we will visit.
The information on the “Hikari” Shinkansen train in the English page may be useful for those who want to use Japan Rail Pass and travel from Himeji to Tokyo for the field trip to P. ramosa habitat. Japan Rail Pass is an unlimited ride ticket of JR trains and JR buses but cannot be used for “Nozomi” and “Mizuho” Shinkansen trains. Visit the web page < https://japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html> for details.

We hope you start thinking about participation in the conference and prepation of your travel plan in this holiday season.