IEICE Technical Committee Meeting of Radio Communication Systems and Satellite Communications (Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture)
Toki Messe
I participated in the August meeting held by Radio Communication Systems (RCS) and Satellite Communications (SAT) of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE). The meeting was held at Toki Messe (Niigata Convention Center) in Niigata City for two days, August 28th and 29th, 2025.
I traveled from Hiroshima to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Niigata by Shinkansen. Niigata Station was under renovation. The station building is made of glass, so I’m looking forward to the new station.
It takes about 25 minutes to walk from Niigata Station to Toki Messe, the venue for the workshop. On the way, you will pass Bandai Bridge in Niigata’s downtown area. It is the bridge over Shinano River, the longest river in Japan.
If you walk along the well-maintained road along the Shinano River, you will come across the high-rise Hotel Nikko Niigata, the Toki Messe international conference center, and the Sado Kisen ferry, which operates a route to Sado Island.
The buildings are connected by an all-weather walkway.
The first half of the workshop was held as a parallel session, and the second half as a single session.
At the workshop, we listened to many of the latest research results, including millimeter-wave wireless communications, wireless channel allocation using quantum computing and reinforcement learning, TT&C for satellite communication terminals, inter-satellite optical communications, and cell configuration methods for drones and HAPS. I also gave a research presentation titled “An experimental study on the reception of the Q-ANPI disaster information signal broadcast by the Quasi-Zenith Satellite Michibiki-3,.”
Located right next to Toki Messe, the Hotel Nikko Niigata’s observation deck on the 31st floor is open to the public and offers a panoramic view of Niigata city. Admission to the observation deck is free, and there are also souvenir shops and snack bars on the same floor.
There are dining options at Hotel Nikko Niigata and Sado Kisen, but since it was a rare opportunity, I also went to Pier Bandai, which is about a 10-minute walk from Toki Messe. There are many restaurants and seafood souvenir shops here.
This seafood bowl was delicious.
Niigata Museum of History
It takes about seven hours to get from Hiroshima to Niigata by Shinkansen, so we arrived in Niigata with plenty of time to spare so that we could respond quickly if any problems arose.
Therefore, I had some free time the day before the seminar, and I went to the Niigata History Museum, located near Toki Messe. There, they have exhibits on the history of rice cultivation in Niigata, and there is also a theater introducing the history.
Yamanoshita Minato Tower and Irifune Minato Tower
Furthermore, if you walk towards the mouth of the Shinano River, you will come across the very large Irifune Minato Tower. On the opposite bank is the Yamanoshita Minato Tower, and these two towers are connected by an underground walkway under the Shinano River.
Irifune Minato Tower is designed so that you can enter from this underground walkway, the first floor, and the second floor, but when I visited, the exterior wall was under construction and I could only enter via the underground walkway.
The observation deck on the top floor of the tower offers a panoramic view of the Sea of Japan. Admission is free.
I walked through this underground passage and headed for Yamanoshitaminato Tower on the opposite bank.
The observation deck of Yamanoshita Minato Tower was elaborately designed. Admission was free. Yamanoshita Minato Tower could also only be accessed via the underground walkway.
I could see a wonderful view from here too.
In Niigata, I listened to the latest research results, ate delicious food, and saw beautiful scenery. If I have the opportunity to come to Niigata again, I would like to visit Sado Island.