Hokkaido Toyako Summit

Accommodation Booking Procedure for the Press for the Hokkaido Toyako Summit

The Hokkaido Toyako Summit will be held from July 7 to 9, 2008 at the Windsor Hotel Toya in the Lake Toya area of Hokkaido. The site is located approximately 2 hours away from New Chitose Airport by car (see map [PDF]).

In accordance with the recent practice of G8 Summits, access to the Summit venue (the Windsor Hotel Toya) will be limited, in principle, to the pool press. The International Media Center (IMC) will be set up at Rusutsu Resort, which is 30 minutes away from the Summit venue by car. Accommodation for the press will be available primarily in the Rusutsu area and in the Niseko area which is 30 minutes away from Rusutsu Resort by car. Should there be availability of rooms, member of the press could also stay in the Lake Toya area.

To ensure smooth allocation and booking of accommodation for the Hokkaido Toyako Summit, the Accommodation Booking Centre will accept pre-booking requests from the press between 12 November and 15 December. Please refer to the information and procedures below, and submit all relevant documents by the deadline of midnight on 15 December in Japan's local time (UTC+9).

The Accommodation Booking Centre will notify applicants of a room assignment together with a pre-booking number by mid-January, 2008. However, please note that the pre-booking number does not necessarily guarantee issuance of summit ID.

(1) The Windsor Hotel Toya: Summit Venue and Accommodation for the G8 Leaders

The Windsor Hotel Toya accommodates only G8 leaders and accompanying officials, and its rooms are not available for the press.

(2) Rusutsu: International Media Center (IMC) and Press Accommodation (Rusutsu Resort and 6 other hotels, List attached [PDF])

The IMC will be set up at the Rusutsu Resort. There, accommodation will be available for the members of press. Since the IMC will be a restricted security zone, various security measures will be taken and applied to the press, who will stay at Rusutsu Resort.

Hotel rooms in the Rusutsu area are mostly catered for families and groups (rooms are designed for shared use). Therefore, despite its relatively large accommodation capacity, the number of rooms is rather limited. In addition, a certain number of rooms need to be reserved for G8 press officers' working space and other official purposes. Due to such limitations, it may not be possible to allocate rooms to all who wish to stay in the Rusutsu area. Those who could not book accommodation in the Rusutsu area will be diverted to alternative accommodation sites such as Niseko.

For accommodation between July 6 (Check-in) and July 10 (Check-out) in the Rusutsu area, the Government of Japan will allocate rooms based upon requests submitted to the Accommodation Booking Centre. Therefore, all those who wish to book accommodation in the Rusutsu area are invited to return an attached pre-booking request form to the Accommodation Booking Centre. Please note that no individual hotel in the Rusutsu area will accept booking during the above-mentioned dates, except through the Accommodation Booking Centre. Due to the limited capacity at Rusutsu area, should you wish to request accommodation in the area, please make sure to indicate your 2nd and 3rd areas of choice when submitting the pre-booking request form.

(3) Niseko (30 min. by car from Rusutsu Resort)

A booking arrangement can be made either by directly contacting individual hotels in the area or through the Accommodation Booking Centre. A free shuttle service between the Niseko area and Rusutsu Resort will be available for those staying in the Niseko area.

(4) Lake Toya Area: Accommodation for the G8 Delegations (25 hotels, List Attached PDF)

For accommodation between July 6 (Check-in) and July 10 (Check-out) at 25 hotels in the Lake Toya area, the Government of Japan will allocate rooms with a priority to the G8 official delegations. However, should there be availability of rooms, accommodation may also be allocated to members of press. Please contact the Accommodation Booking Centre for all accommodation in the Lake Toya area. (Please note that no pre-booking request will be accepted by individual hotels in the Lake Toya area.) Provision of shuttle service between the Lake Toya area and Rusutsu Resort is under consideration.

(5) Accommodation in other areas of Hokkaido

Booking arrangements can be made by directly contacting individual hotels or through the Accommodation Booking Centre. When visiting the IMC from other areas of Hokkaido, please use public transportation as there is no parking space available at Rusutsu Resort.

(6) For accommodation in the Rusutsu and Lake Toya area, the longer one stays, the higher the priority that will be given in assigning rooms.

(7) As for Internet access, please note that while 24-hour Internet access is provided at the IMC in Rusutsu Resort, Internet facilities are limited in individual hotels. (As for internet access in individual hotels, please refer to the hotel information on the website of Accommodation Booking Centre.)

(8) Please note that your requested room type (Japanese/Western) may not be available.

(1) Functions of the Centre

- For hotels in the Rusutsu and Lake Toya areas, the Centre will allocate, pre-book and book rooms, etc.
- For other Hotels in Hokkaido, the Centre will provide assistance in finding and/or booking accommodation, etc.
- The Accommodation Booking Centre is open only to those who are expected to receive Summit ID, such as members of G8 delegations and members of press.

(1) Please fill in and return the attached pre-booking request form (EXCEL/PDF) via e-mail or fax to the Accommodation Booking Centre by December 15. If there is more than one applicant from the same press agency, in order to simplify and expedite the procedure, please put together the requests of your agency's staff on a single form (group requests are encouraged). Basic information regarding each accommodation is available on the website. Please note that incomplete request forms may not be accepted.

(a) Contact Person and Company/Agency
(b) Check-in and Check-out Date
(c) Name of Area
(please indicate 2nd and 3rd choices)
(d) Number and Type of Rooms
(e) Number of Persons
(f) Contact Details (telephone, fax, e-mail address)

(2) The Accommodation Booking Centre will notify your room assignment together with pre-booking number (and cancellation policy) by mid-January, 2008. (Please note that the pre-booking number does not necessarily guarantee the future issuance of summit ID. The process for the issuance of summit ID is expected to begin in spring of 2008.)

(3) Once the pre-booking number has been provided, you may make a booking arrangement through the Centre or directly with the hotel.

(4) Please note that initial allocation of rooms will be carried out after December 15 deadline for the initial application period.

(5) After the closing of application on December 15, the Accommodation Booking Centre will continue to accept pre-booking requests. However, please note that the room availability will be limited thereafter.

(6) Should there be any questions, please contact the Accommodation Booking Centre by telephone or e-mail (English or Japanese only).