After being postponed for year due to COVID-related travel restrictions and safety concerns, the 35th Annual Society for Magnetic Resonance Angiography (SMRA) Conference was successfully held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture from October 17th to 20th. The conference was primarily held in-person, though an online portion included around 30 participants as well to be more inclusive of those who have difficulty traveling. In total, there were approximately 160 participants, including 140 international participants from 12 countries. The conference was held inside the AER Building, a venue located adjacent to JR Sendai Station that is popular with local event organizers, but rarely used for international conferences. Furthermore, there was an abundance of activities and cultural programs arranged for participants and their travel companions. Seeking an opportunity to gain valuable feedback to attract and support future MICE while also improving services and facilities, staff from the Sendai Convention Bureau interviewed on-site support team organizers of the conference.
Welcome to Sendai, Jessica (left) and Anna (right)!
Anna Van Vliet, serving as the Conference Planning and Communications Consultant at SMRA, brings over five years of dedicated involvement in administrative support within the organization. Despite her bustling career in social work and mental health, Anna consistently extends her support to SMRA by actively participating in monthly board meetings and promptly addressing stakeholder inquiries throughout the year.
Working alongside Anna is Jessica Guillemette, the Assistant and Virtual Platform Liaison. While her professional career is as a data analyst for the Government of Canada, Jessica found herself unexpectedly drawn into the conference and events industry during the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2019. This shift occurred when her tech-savvy expertise was sought after by her mother, a seasoned 20-year veteran event planner, seeking assistance amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic. After helping her mother transform an in-person conference scheduled to be held in France to mostly online, Jessica was hooked. Since 2020, Jessica has been involved with SMRA by curating and managing its virtual conference platform as well as supporting the conference on-site and in a remote role in various ways when needed.
Anna: It was the first time for both me and Jessica to visit Japan, so our first concern was just getting to Sendai, our hotel and the venue since we were unable to do a site visit before the conference. Sendai is easy to access with just a 90-minute shinkansen bullet train ride from Tokyo Station. Our hotel and the meeting venue were on opposite ends of Sendai Station, and both easy to find. With the compact city center, sufficient information on Google Maps, and ability to use UBER, it was easy to navigate around. Regarding communication, the hotel staff (Metropolitan Hotel) spoke English, and I heard there are also staff at Sendai Tourist Information Center inside Sendai Station that also speak English, so there were no big issues for my personal experience.
Jessica: Sendai is safe, clean and beautiful with its urban nature. Everything I ate was delicious, and there are so many restaurants, with many non-Japanese food options, too. Metropolitan Hotel located adjacent to Sendai Station is a hotel I would recommend for international meeting organizers. Its access can’t be beat, it has well-maintained rooms and facilities, and the breakfast options will please both Japanese people and international visitors. It was great to pick-up healthy and light options I am familiar with, such as yogurt, salad and fruit smoothies to kick start my day.
“City of Trees” Sendai offers both rich nature and urban greenery along with the conveniences of a large, modern city.
Anna: The Society for Magnetic Resonance Angiography (SMRA) formally incorporated as a nonprofit in 2015, but it traces its roots back to 1989 when it was founded as the MR Angio Club to bring together scientists, clinicians and industry with a common interest in MR Angiography (MRA). Even today, the society members share strong connections, almost like a family. You’ll see members eager to reconnect each year while also warmly welcoming new members. It is common for members to spend time with each other through the entirety of the conference period, which includes during education sessions, excursions or activities, and also early mornings and late nights.
Jessica: To add on to what Anna said, I imagine small groups of our participants would enjoy going out together, rather than exploring on their own because of the close relationships between the members. The conference education sessions keep everyone busy most of the day, but there are short periods when participants can go out to explore, grab a snack, or do some quick shopping. One recommendation I would make for the Sendai Convention Bureau is to provide a list of nearby restaurants and activities that are close (within 15 minutes by walking) of the venue to organizers/participants. There are too many restaurants, shops and side streets around the station which makes it difficult to know where to go or what to do for first-time visitors.
Anna/Jessica We were originally looking at another venue in Sendai that was already booked, but we settled on using the AER Building. The location was perfect: close to many hotels and right next to JR Sendai Station. On one floor we set up seminar and meeting rooms, while the upper floor was used for lunch, a break area, sponsor displays, and networking. The access and elevator navigation to the floor is difficult to find for first-time visitors, so we set up signs and guiding staff to ensure no one gets lost. One morning, the area between the elevator and seminar rooms was being used for voting in local elections, so it was a bit chaotic and confusing for participants that don’t speak Japanese to walk through. Besides that though, there were no major issues. Everything was very clean, there was adequate areas to sit outside in the lobby area, and there were escalators and elevators, so accessibility was no issue even for a wheelchair user and some participants which have trouble with stairs.
On the other hand, we found hours slightly restrictive. While the venue, which includes areas open to the public, regularly opens at 9:00am, it would’ve been helpful to be able to get in a little earlier to set up on the first day. I heard it was only through great efforts through a MICE promotion local government representative that the venue agreed to open 30 minutes earlier—not ideal, but we were grateful. Every day we had to enter and leave according to the exact time as our application papers. Japanese people seem to value timeliness and rules, an excellent quality, however added flexibility where possible, may appeal to more conferences and conventions.
Using a grant from the Japan Tourism Agency to improve competitiveness in attracting international conferences for the post-COVID period, the conference organizers were able to offer a number of attractive cultural and educational programs for participants, as well as travel companions. Popular destination visits included the ancient temples of World Heritage Site Hiraizumi, the pine-covered islands of Matsushima, famous for being one of Japan’s three most scenic spots, and study trips to areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami to hear the lessons learned from the disaster while viewing the recovery process. There was also a city tour to learn about sites connected with city founder Date Masamune, and a memorable tea ceremony, taiko drum experience, and kokeshi decorating experience.
Activities and sightseeing enjoyed by SMRA participants and their travel companions
Anna/Jessica Everyone came together to make this event a big success. We would like to express our appreciation in particular to SMRA 2023 Scientific Co-Chairs Professor Hideki Ota (Tohoku University, University Hospital Medical IT Center) with support from Mitsue Miyazaki (UC San Diego, Adjunct Professor of Radiology). While the main role of a scientific co-chair is to create the educational and scientific programs, Professor Ota and Professor Miyazaki were heavily involved in the planning process, providing language support and cultural context, as well as excursion ideas that would be attractive to participants or their travel companions. They definitely had a strong passion to welcome members from around the world to Sendai.
Furthermore, we want to applaud local bi-lingual PCO, Miki Hasegawa and her team at Senkyo Co., Ltd. for working tirelessly with the creation of the website, registration, handling the submission of papers, processing payments, etc. What impressed us most was how she and her team were able to advise and accommodate the needs of 90 visa requests, including 57 for participants of a just re-opened China.
Throughout the planning and implementation process, we experienced firsthand the spirit of Japanese hospitality and perseverance.
Sendai Convention Bureau staff Justin Velgus interviewing SMRA organizers
“Arigato” Anna and Jessica for taking time out of your busy schedules to share such valuable information. The Sendai Convention Bureau will continue to work toward attracting more conferences to Sendai while constantly improving the satisfaction of organizers and participants.
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