Tuesday 16th May
Today was the first day of the conference proper. I was little disappointed by the organisation; our main lecture hall was flat (not sloped like a lecture theatre), there were no desks to lean on, just row after row of very odd chairs.
Looking to all intents like a regular chair, putting weight on the wrong part of the back caused the chair to lean back - great if you were relaxing, not so great if you were trying to take notes. Lunch wasn't free as it was in Ithaca 2 years earlier although the cafe was inexpensive. The afternoon saw the shorter lectures take place. There was some fairly ropey science on display here. Igor took apart one presentation by showing how it contradicted itself and a couple of apparent postgrads or young postdocs spoke leading me to actually be slightly pissed off that I hadn't been asked to give a presentation. After the lectures came my poster presentation. A good number of people seemed interested in work and several people asked to be sent copies of our paper. As the sun set over a misty Osaka, there was more evidence for a lack of neon - both in the local area and in the distance. Eventually the delegates disappeared home to the upmarket Rihga Royal and the large number of grad students packed up and headed back to the cheaper NCB hotel.
I went out to dinner with Yvonne, returning to the vending machine resturant we'd first encountered on the first night. She told me that the afer eating at the same chinese restaurant Kara and I had eaten at a few nights earlier had left some delegates with food poisoning - explaining some of the quiet, uneasy presentations we had seen...
Monday 15th May
Today I was alone for breakfast as Kara had sourced hers from the 7-11 the night before. We set out back to Awaza, the ticket machine posing no problems this time around. This time we alighted at Osaka Castle and walked around the surrounding park. Although it was quiet and peaceful (apart from the incessent whistling from the land-train) the city's skyscrapers were visable in the background and the site lies near the final approach into Osaka International Itami Airport so low flying planes were common. There was a miniature garden display on (complete with barmy mascot character) so we had a browse thhrough these before we eventually got to the castle itself which contains a museum.
The view from the top floor is certainly impressive, apparently moreso than that from the Umeda Sky Building. There was a school trip at the time so Japanese junior school children rushed around in large numbers - some of them spotting the gaijin greeted us with a cheery "hello!". The castle itself is something of a fraud having been largely reconstructed in the last century but still looks impressive. After strolling through the plum groves we headed back to the hotel, picking up a freshly prepared sushi lunch on the way back.
The afternoon brought registration for the conference and our first encounter with the Grand Cube Osaka - the international convention centre. The conference was on the 12th foor and the foyer outside our main hall afforded some more great views over the city. The reception brought a welcome influx of food of various styles as we mingled with the researchers attending the proceedings. This was to be the only complementary food for the whole week, but it was provided by the Rihga Royal so was of a high standard.
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