Researchers and staff visited the town of Daito in Ichinoseki City on Friday, December 9, as part of LCWS 2016 〓 an international workshop on future linear colliders 〓 and learned more about the ILC candidate site in the Kitakami Mountains, and also about local culture, food and so on.

Some 350 researchers and staff from universities and particle physics institutes in 22 countries and regions around the world gathered for LCWS 2016, and about 100 of these took part in the bus tour to the candidate site, which included looking over the landscape in Daito near the proposed route for the ILC.

Participants also made a stop at the Ohara Civic Center, where granite boring samples, geological data, and 3D glasses for use with a large map of the Kitakami Mountains were on display, as were panels of local efforts being made to prepare for the ILC.

Photos and video footage were used to showcase local culture, introducing festivals and events in Ichinoseki City, Oshu City, Hiraizumi Town, and Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture.

Participants also got a taste of local culture via the snacks made available, including the “Welcome ILC! Double Cream” cake made in support of the ILC by a local provider of welfare services for people with disabilities.

Ikuo Kumagai, a director at Iwate Prefecture’s Office of Science and ILC Promotion Office, said afterwards: “I hope the researchers felt the area is attractive, and that this clears one hurdle on the path to making the ILC a reality.”

[Photo: Participants learning more at the ILC candidate site]