The 65th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ65) will be held for 5 days, from March 14 to 18, 2018 at Sapporo Convention Center. The venue has a good access, 17 mins by bus and 16 mins by Sapporo City Subway & walk from JR Sapporo Station and about 1 hour from New Chitose Airport. Along the Sapporo City Subway, there are several sightseeing spots, such as Hokkaido University Campus and Maruyama Zoo. You can also visit a large entertainment district Susukino in 10 mins by subway. The ‘Genghis Khan’ BBQ and soup curry are known to be local specialties in Sapporo. In addition, Sapporo is blessed with abundant fresh seafood, local sake produced with flavorful rice acclaimed to be enriched with climate change and hidden but excellent soba noodle restaurants. Near the ESJ65 venue, Sapporo Beer Garden is suitable to hold more deep discussion in a red-brick-furnished hall with tasty beer.

Hokkaido is a place filled with "frontier spirit". We hope you'll fully enjoy the great nature of Hokkaido after having intellectual stimulation in the meeting. It might be fun to go for spring skiing in Niseko Area, to go bird-watching in Utonai-Ko Sanctuary or Miyajima Swamp, to soak yourselves in several hot springs such as Jozankei, Lake Shikotsu, Noboribetsu, etc. or to visit historic sites such as Shimamatsu.

In cooperation with the Annual Meeting Planning Committee of the Ecological Society of Japan, the Organizing Committee of the ESJ65 comprised of the Hokkaido regional members of the ESJ, is preparing for fruitful meeting. A public lecture focussing on the ecological characteristics of Hokkaido will be held in this meeting. We are looking forward to seeing you in Sapporo.

Tsutom Hiura, Chair of the Organizing Committee of the ESJ65
Gaku Kudo, Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of the ESJ65