Limited Space Remaining. All Ages Welcome! 

Venue : PricewaterhouseCoopers
488 S Almaden Blvd 18th Floor
San Jose, CA 95110 United States

May 15, 2019 | Wednesday | 6:00 – 8:00PM

Many foreign visitors to Japan are fascinated by the efficiency and advanced technologies of Japanese trains. Join us and learn more about Japanese train culture today, while our special guest Sushi Chef Yuki Ihara will be cooking sushi in front of you to enjoy during the presentation!

For much of the 20th century and the present day, rail transport has been a significant means of passenger transport between Japanese cities and within urban areas. Trains are an integral part of Japan’s daily life, carrying 13 billion passengers a year or twice the world’s population.  With more than 100 private companies providing rail transport services in Japan using many different unique types of trains, Japan is also a train lover’s dream.

Join us on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 in the South Bay, where special guest speaker Kan Sakurai, a Japanese train expert & photojournalist, will provide a unique look into Japanese railway culture from an insider’s perspective. Mr. Sakurai will also cover the many uses of trains in Japan, from trains used daily for commuting to luxury leisure travel experiences available on the rails.

This once in a lifetime opportunity to hear about Japanese railways from one of the country’s foremost railway experts is brought to you through a special partnership between the Japan Society and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

SUSHI ACTION STATION
Watch all your favorite sushi items created right in front of you!   Experience a special course with a super super sushi chef, Masaya from Kawashima Kitchen.  Enjoy!

Program Schedule:

6:00 – 6:30: Registration, Networking

6:30 – 6:40: Opening Remarks

6:40 – 7:25: Presentation by Kan Sakurai

7:25 – 7:45: Q&A

7:45 – 8:00: Dinner, Networking

Speaker Profile:

Kan Sakurai | Railroad photojournalist and enthusiast

Kan Sakurai was born in 1954 in Nagano Prefecture, a mountainous, landlocked prefecture in the center of Japan’s main island of Honshu. As the son of two railway employees—his father a railroad worker and his mother a local station’s telephone operator—Sakurai grew up surrounded by trains as a child, which naturally nurtured his enthusiasm. This fascination developed into a love for railroad photography in junior high school when he took his first train photos using a twin-lens reflex camera. And at a young age, he soon became a paid contributor to “Railway Journal,” a leading magazine in Japan for railroad enthusiasts.

After working for the photography department of a major Japanese publisher, Sakurai decided to became a freelance photojournalist in 1990. Then in 1993, he participated for the first time as a member of the Japanese media team in the “Champagne Charlie International Footsteps Race”—a 100-day race around the world using only trains, ships, and other modes of transportation aside from aircraft—circumnavigating the globe in only 88 days. In 2017, Sakurai began serving as a visiting professor at Tokyo College of Transport Studies which uniquely offers specialized courses specific to trains and transportations, attracting students from all corners of Japan who are interested in pursuing careers in those industries.

In pursuit of railroad photography, Sakurai has not only traveled extensively throughout Japan, but has also visited 95 countries, authoring or co-authoring nearly 100 articles on trains along the way.
Currently, he is a regular contributor to several photography- and railway-related publications. And admittedly, his favorite foods are the specialty boxed meals found at train stations across Japan known as “ekiben.”