Procedures upon your arrival at NAOJ

This page summarizes a series of procedures when you visit the Mitaka campus of National Astronomical Observatory, Tokyo, Japan, using a funding support from NAOJ. Note that the description in this page is very rough, and there are many more details in what you should actually do. Ask your host for more specific details.

Before coming to Japan, right after you have purchased your air ticket

Send us your

air ticket receipt
itinerary

in an electronic form through e-mail or webpage.

When leaving your country

Bring original prints of your

air ticket receipt
itinerary
stub of boarding pass

Then, the NAOJ treasury office will give you reimbursement by Japanese yen cash sometime during your stay.

Upon arriving at NAOJ

An access map to the Mitaka campus from the Narita and the Haneda airports
A visit guide of the NAOJ Mitaka Campus including the campus map
About the visitor IC card key (read the description beneath the access map)
When you have arrived at the campus between 09:00-17:00 of weekdays,
1. Get in the campus through the front gate. Get the visitor IC card key at the guard office.
2. Go straight to the main building, and get into it using the visitor IC card, and you will find a small reception desk at the left. Find someone and ask him/her:
  "I have an appointment with Takashi Ito at Astronomy Data Center. Please make a phonecall to him."
3. Someone will make a phonecall to me (ext. 3454).
When you have arrived at the campus during other period than above, such as at night or during weekends,
1. Get in the campus through the front gate. Get the visitor IC card key at the guard office.
2. At the guard office, tell the guard your name, and ask the guard to make a phonecall to me (if I am in my office).

When you have returned to country

Post the original piece of your

stub of boarding pass (on the way back)

to our secretary by air mail. You are supposed to have received the name card of our secretary at our institute. You do not need use special express mails, such as EMS or DHL or FedEx; regular air mail is fine.

Postal address of our secretary

Click here for detailed information

Getting an IC card for transportation

When you have arrived at the Narita or the Haneda airport, it is strongly recommended that you buying an IC smart for public transportation. Several different kinds of card with almost the same functions are available. The most major one of them is called "Suica".

Suica is a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train/bus lines in the Tokyo area. With this card, you would not need to prepare cash when you ride on most trains and buses in the Tokyo area. You can also use the card at many convenience stores and vending machines for shopping. Try to find/buy it at the JR stations or at airports, and your stay in Tokyo will be extremely comfortable and convenient.
A similar card operated by a different company group is called "Pasmo", which you can use almost in the same way as Suica. See their webpage for more detail of Pasmo.

Other useful information

You can download route maps of JR East (the largest railroad company in Japan) in the Tokyo metropolitan area from their website.
Prof. Tomisaka of NAOJ has made an elaborated webpage for foreign visitors how to access the campus, particularly by the airport bus.
The webpage of an international meeting that we hosted in 2012 will be useful for your your visit, as it contains various information as for your trip to/in Japan.
A restaurant map around the NAOJ campus (may not be up to date)
Here is the detailed information as for the travel insurance that NAOJ can provide you during your trip. | The Japanese version
(Japanese) Business hours of the Univ. Tokyo CO-OP cafeteria/shop in the NAOJ campus
(Japanese) The meeting room on the second floor of the S2 building is always very useful, and will be our major discussion venue.
(Japanese) You need to fill and send a travel request to our secretary before the travel.

Last modified: Mon Feb 19 08:41:59 JST 2024