Inspiration. The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) has been presenting the Japan Best Incentive Travel Awards since 2016. And with good reason. Japan casts quite a spell. Even the most indulged, widely travelled delegates are often amazed at the Far Eastern flair and perfection of Japanese events. The award ceremony is taking place in Osaka for the first time on 23 October 2019. The venue is the City Central Public Hall, a neo-classical brick building.

This city of many canals has a population of 2.5 m and is Japan’s second-largest business hub and its culinary capital. The largest venue is INTEX Osaka, which has 70,000 square metres of exhibition space and is hosting Tourism EXPO Japan (TEJ) from 24 to 27 October 2019. Over 207,300 visitors came to the event in 2018, and there were over 1,400 exhibitors from 136 countries. However, both INTEX Osaka and the city itself will be getting significantly more international attention for the G20 leaders’ summit, which is coming from 28 to 29 June 2019. The state guesthouse in Osaka Castle Park provides a fine setting for photo opportunities at bilateral summits.

The Osaka Bay MICE area around INTEX is due for significant further development over the next six years. The World Expo will be held here from 3 May to 3 November 2025. Japan’s third-largest city, which also hosted the 1970 World Expo, offers the ideal setting for the Expo’s theme, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. The Osaka Innovation Hub (OIH) boasts impressive technology, particularly in the healthcare sector, and a high density of startups. In addition to offering financial incentives to foreign companies setting up in the city, living costs are significantly lower than in Tokyo, and Osaka is very well connected. Kansai International Airport, designed by Renzo Piano and built on an artificial island in 1994, can handle 20 m passengers a year. The region of Kansai includes the cities of Osaka, Kobe, Nara and Kyoto.

Kobe, one of Japan’s most important port cities, opened the country’s first modern convention centre in 1981. The 17th ISPO International Congress of Engineers of Artificial Limbs is coming here from 5 to 8 October 2019, attended by 3,000 delegates. Local research and development expertise in robotics and technical assistance solutions for healthcare played a key role in Osaka’s successful bid for the event. Kobe has Japan’s largest medical and biotechnology cluster and hosted the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting in 2016.

For the target group of academic participants eager for knowledge, Kobe Convention Bureau offers nine tours that explain local culture playfully with a clear edutainment focus. Popular attractions include the fish market, where tuna of up to 70 kg can be admired, and the Kikumasa sake brewery. If you travel 40 minutes north by rail, you can recharge at the Arima Onsen hot springs at an altitude of almost 400 metres. Those seeking an adrenaline rush can visit the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the world’s longest suspension bridge, at 3,911 m, and enjoy 360-degree views of Kobe and the nearby islands. There is space for up to 80 guests on the tour, which lasts three hours.

Kyoto, Japan’s historical capital, is just a 27-minute bullet-train ride from Osaka. Kyoto’s futuristic station, which opened in 1997, the city’s 1,200th anniversary, has huge escalators spanning the building’s 15 floors. With over 2,000 temples and gardens, Kyoto enjoys iconic status in Japan and can claim with some justification to be a city where tradition meets innovation. Top-class, Nobel Prize-winning medical research and expertise in sustainable technologies bring conventions to Kyoto. The signing of the Kyoto Protocol at COP 3 in 1997 was a milestone in international climate policy.

So it’s no wonder that Kyoto is also one of the cities in the Global Development Sustainability Index. As further evidence of the city’s long-standing commitment to sustainability, the Kyoto Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a programme that helps planners to organise sustainable events. The Kyoto Traditional Products for MICE Rental Guide offers a range of hand-made local products for hire. Besides preventing waste, these include inspiring items typical of the local region.

The International Conference of Museums (ICOM) from 1 to 7 September 2019 at the Kyoto International Conference Centre (KICC) will be one opportunity to use them. The event’s theme is “Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition”. Over 3,000 delegates are expected. With over 200 museums, Kyoto seems an ideal choice to host the conference. There are also 3 museums among the 41 exceptional venues in the portfolio of the Kyoto CVB. The Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, which attracts a million visitors a year, was recently reopened with a new roof over its northern courtyard and now offers a capacity of 1,500.

The portfolio also includes Japan’s oldest theatre, the Minamiza Theatre, which hosts Kabuki performances. The Kaburenjo Theatre, founded in 1894, presents Kyoto geishas perform following years of training. Temple visits and kimono-fitting sessions followed by photos are among the popular incentive options in Kyoto. The Shunkoin Temple offers Zen meditation for groups, with instruction in English, plus overnight stays where required.

Kyoto’s surrounding area offers many inspiring visitor attractions, including the historic city of Nara, which boasts Japan’s largest bronze statue and the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine. It has an avenue of thousands of scarlet wooden gates, one of Japan’s most famous photograph motifs. Planners wanting to offer their participants contemporary inspiration can take them to the Miho Museum north-east of the city of Kyoto. Located in unspoilt countryside, this striking building hosted the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2018 Show.