Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006

Osaka Australia fair will feature new LNG tanker:
An Australia fair will be held Sept. 2 and 3 in Osaka's bay area.

Held as part of the 2006 Australia-Japan Year of Exchange, the fair will be centered around a new, colorfully painted tanker that will drop anchor in the port of Osaka during the two days.

The liquefied natural gas tanker is one of the largest of its kind. It measures about 300 meters long, 70 meters high and 50 meters wide. It will soon go into service transporting LNG from Australia to Japan.

Its four round tanks are adorned with paintings by artist and former comedian Jimmy Onishi, who produced the works in collaboration with 40 children.

The tanker will be anchored in beth C10 at Yumeshima Island, Konohana Ward, from 3 p.m. Sept. 2 to 8:30 a.m. Sept. 3, and at the pier in the Tempozan area of Minato Ward from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 3. It can be viewed best from the Osaka Maritime Museum and WTC Cosmotower in Suminoe Ward on Sept. 2, and from Tempozan Wharf in Minato Ward on Sept. 3. The Cosmotower observatory will have free admission for the day.

Australian food stalls will be set up in front of Kaiyukan Aquarium in the Tempozan area, and a stamp rally will cover 10 facilities in the bay area, offering such prizes as a pair of free air tickets to Perth, among other events.

For more information, call the organizer at (06) 6242-5137, fax (06) 6356-8280 or visit the event's Web site at www.dreamtanker.net

Symposium to focus on animal shelters:
Knots, a Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture-based nonprofit organization that promotes animal welfare, is hosting an international symposium 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 10 at Portopia Hotel in Chuo Ward, Kobe.

The sixth symposium for the group, titled "The Future of Shelter Management in Japan -- Working in Cooperation with Public Organizations," will consider directions for the future of the animal shelter management system by introducing case studies from Japan and abroad. The panelists are Dr. Rebecca Rhoades, executive director of the Kauai Humane Society in Hawaii, Sanae Matsuda, consultant of the Japan Animal Welfare Society's Hanshin branch, and Teruhisa Hakinoki, deputy chairman of the board of the NPO Ashiya Museum Management.

Admission is free, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made by sending your name, address and contact number by fax at (0798) 22-2878 or e-mail at info@knots.or.jp

An online reservation form can also be sent at www.knots.or.jp/sympo.htm

For more information, call the organizer at (0798) 22-2878, or visit www.knots.or.jp/english/project/sympo/live2006/live2006.htm (in English).

English tour of Kyoto's Shimogamo Shrine:
A volunteer guide interpreter is organizing a one-day tour to Kyoto for English-speaking foreigners Sept. 9.

The group will visit Shimogamo Shrine in Sakyo Ward to observe unique sumo wrestling matches between boys, as part of a seasonal Shinto ritual.

Participants will meet guide Paul Satoh at 9:30 a.m. in front of the Kyoto City Tourist Information Office on the second floor of the Kyoto Station building.

Participants are required to pay the actual costs of the tour, which will be around 1,500 yen including bus fare and lunch. Another 1,000 yen will be accepted as a gratuity.

Reservations must be made in advance. The tour is reserved for non-Japanese only.

For reservations, fax Satoh at (072) 831-2797.

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