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 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 and locations 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!

--  Koji Kondo on behalf of JCPS/CPES/TCPS Team