WFIMC 2023 General Assembly: Hamamatsu, Japan!

DATES: UPDATES ON THE EXACT ASSEMBLY DATES WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THIS PLACE SHORTLY.

As recently announced at the General Assembly in Bydgoszcz, plans for the 2023 General Assembly have changed. Due to prolonged Covid restrictions and uncertainties, Harbin, China, will be postponed to 2025, while next year´s venue will be Hamamatsu, Japan.

Originally scheduled for 2020, the pandemic prevented the Hamamatsu GA from taking place. But now, as Japan is in the process of opening up to the world, the Assembly has become a reality again and Hamamatsu is looking forward to welcome guests from all over the world in what will be a truly meaningful conference: a sign of solidarity and encouragement for all our members in Asia, who have been (and some of them still are) more isolated than other parts of the world during the past two years.

With a record 46%, Japan ranks first among the countries that people around the world would like to visit after the end of the pandemic, says Noriko Ogawa, Chair of the Hamamatsu since 2018. After the great disappointment in 2020, she is excited to make the competition´s dream come true and finally host the World Federation in Japan

Hamamatsu from the top of ACT City tower

Act City Hamamatsu

Unagi- grilled eel, a specialty of Hamamatsu

Fugu- thinly cut sashimi of the famous blowfish

Gyoza- fried dumplings

Shinkansen high-speed train passing by Mount Fuji- not far from Hamamatsu.

Located conveniently along the Shinkansen High-Speed train line between Tokyo and Osaka, Hamamatsu has historically been an important crossroads, a place of encounters and exchanges between people. Called the “Yaramaika Spirit”, people in Hamamatsu grew to be open-minded and keen to come up with new ideas. Boosting more entrepreneurs than any other place in Japan, Hamamatsu is now home to instrument makers Yamaha, Kawai, Roland (electric pianos), Tokai (electric guitars), but also Suzuki and Honda motorcars, or Hamamatsu Photonics, a company working with Nobel Prize winner scientists.

A cultural and technical crossroads, Hamamatsu is also a food capital in the region. While its grilled eel (Unagi) is famous all over Japan, Hamamatsu also has delicious fried dumplings (Gyoza), legendary Fugu (blowfish), crab, oysters, Japanese sweets, green tea and Mikan (Japanese mandarin).

Whether cutting edge high-tech or ancient temples, classy shopping or calming tea ceremonies, fine dining or superb Japanese street food, this city has it all.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Hamamatsu 2023!