International Obsidian Conference (IOC) Engaru 2023
3–6 July 2023
Engaru Metro Plaza, Engaru Town, Hokkaido, Japan
Official website in English: https://sites.google.com/view/iocengaru2023/home
Overviews in Japanese/English: http://geopark.engaru.jp/ioc2023/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
Greetings: We invite those interested in all aspects of obsidian studies, from natural sciences to archaeology, to IOC Engaru 2023. We hope to maintain a global scope by highlighting obsidian studies throughout Northeast Asia at the conference. In addition, we will focus on geological heritage studies with regard to the development of public education and tourism in rural areas. Finally, we hope this conference will promote transdisciplinary obsidian studies and sustain our communities.
The_Hokkaido Shimbun Press newspaper articles: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fZU09nj54wkDVu7boblIj2JyXZbVCjZ7/view?usp=sharing
Call for paper for Proceedings
It has been officially determined that our Proceedings will be published as a Special Issue (SI) in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (JASREP) according to the following schedule:
October 14, 2024: Open online submissions
December 9, 2024: Final submission deadline
March 31, 2025: Deadline for acceptance
Mid-June 2025: Expected publication date
The tentative title of the Special Issue is "Interdisciplinary Approach to the Complexity of Prehistoric Obsidian Use in a Global Perspective." The guest editors will be Yoshimitsu Suda, Kazutaka Shimada, and Yuichi Nakazawa.
Thank you for attending the IOC Engaru 2023 in Japan
See you at the IOC Yerevan 2026 in Armenia
Important announcement
The PDF version of the Conference Guidebook is now available. The PDF file is password-protected, and the passcode will be shared exclusively with conference attendees.
We have consolidated the attention for in-person attendees in the PDF document.
Breaking News: Shirataki Obsidian Designated as a National Treasure.
Announcements
Attention to all presenters (Updated on 22 June)
Attention to conveners and chairpersons (Updated on 25 June)
Notification
We request the poster presenters to display their posters from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm on 3 July and remove them by 1:00 pm on 6 July.
We have FINALIZED the conference schedule and presentation program on 8 June 2023.
We released the final circular on 1 May 2023.
The online payment system for conference and accommodation fees is now accessible through the JTB portal. It is mandatory for all participants to access the portal and complete payment for the fees by 15 June 2023.
We updated the conference schedule and presentation program on 12 May 2023.
We sincerely apologize that we are canceling the post-conference excursion planned on 7 July at Ajisai Fall for safety reasons.
Conference Schedule and Presentation Program, Finalized
Thanks to your valuable contributions, we have arranged a total of 60 oral presentations and 24 poster presentations. We expect around one hundred attendees in total. You can access the latest conference schedule and presentation program through the following websites.
Presentation Guidelines
Oral presentations (onsite):
Please bring your presentation file in the PPT format on a USB flash drive.
The coordinators for each session will collect the files from you before your presentation.
Oral presentations are limited to 15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of discussion.
Oral presentations (online):
We kindly request all online oral presenters to submit their video files recording of your presentation by 15 June via the designated upload form at https://forms.gle/rhB6MuWnNX6GgCc37. If you are unable to use the Google system, please send your video file (not the PowerPoint file) to the contact persons using any file transfer service.
Oral presentations are limited to 15 minutes. We will follow up with further details regarding the discussion format, which is still under consideration.
Poster presentations (onsite):
The maximum dimensions for posters should adhere to the specifications of 841 mm width by 1189 mm height, which corresponds to the A0 paper size.
We are unable to fulfill any requests for poster printing. Kindly bring your printed posters to the venue.
We have decided not to conduct a brief presentation before the poster presentations.
Students presenting posters are automatically nominated for the IOC student poster awards sponsored by SAS.
Poster presenters must display their posters by 1:00 pm on 3 July and remove them by 1:00 pm on 6 July.
We cannot provide any power supply and desks for your poster presentations.
Engaru Metro Plaza, Engaru Town and Shirataki Geopark
Engaru Metro Plaza (Venue) locates nearby the JR Engaru Station.
Engaru Metro Plaza (https://engaru-metroplaza.jp/)
Engaru Town is in Eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Participants can reach Engaru Town by train from New Chitose Airport (CTS) via Sapporo and Asahikawa. The journey takes about five hours. For more information, see the following websites.
Engaru Town (https://engaru.jp/information/page.php?id=224)
New Chitose Airport (https://www.new-chitose-airport.jp/en/)
For attendees arriving in Engaru by JR trains, we highly recommend using the JR website (https://www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/) to plan your journey.
The mean daily temperature in Engaru Town during early July is about 20°C, with a possibility of cold nights.
Shirataki Geopark is a National Geopark that includes the Shirataki obsidian source and Upper Paleolithic sites of geological and archaeological significance, distributed mainly within Engaru Town. For detailed information on Engaru Town and Shirataki Geopark, see the following websites.
Engaru Town (https://engaru.jp)
Shirataki Geopark (http://geopark.engaru.jp/)
Online Payment System via the JTB portal, Closed
It is mandatory for all participants to access the JTB portal (https://amarys-jtb.jp/ioc2023/) and complete payments for the registration and accommodation fees by 15 June 2023.
If you would like to pay only the registration fee for the conference, please proceed to the "Start Payments" section and select "Registration Fees". Here, you can create your ID and password.
If you would like to pay for both the registration and accommodation fees, please proceed to the "Start Payments" section and select both "Registration Fees" and "Accommodation Fee". Here, you can create your ID and password.
Please note that payments for the registration fee can only be made with a credit card.
We kindly ask all participants to make payment for their registration fees based on their participation category.
Onsite regular presenters (speakers): 20,000 JPY
Onsite non-presenters: 10,000 JPY
Onsite student attendees: 10,000 JPY
Onsite accompanying persons (e.g., family): 10,000 JPY
Online (Remote) participants in all categories: 3,000 JPY
Note: Registration fees for onsite participants include the costs of the excursion, the ice-breaker gathering, the Mayor’s reception, and the Conference dinner.