The Ito International Research Center Awaits You!

ItoCenterThe Ito International Research Center(Ito Center)opened in April 2012. The Ito Center was established to promote UTokyo’s cooperation with society and its exchange with the international community. It was named after Mr. Masatoshi Ito, Honorary Chairman of Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. and his wife, Mrs. Nobuko Ito, who provided donations to UTokyo to fund this project.

The Ito Center, designed by the University of Tokyo Professor emeritus Masao Kohyama and constructed by Kajima Corporation, is located on the site previously occupied by the Gakushi Kaikan (the University Alumni Association Hall) Annex, adjacent to the Akamon (or Red Gate). The Center has a classic outer appearance, embracing a refurbished brick-warehouse originally built in 1916, and stands harmoniously with alongside adjacent buildings.

ItoCenterMultiUseSpace

The Ito Center contains a variety of facilities. These include Ito Hall (with a capacity of 500 people) and Event Space on the second basement floor; galleries on the first basement floor; meeting rooms and Faculty Club on the 2nd floor; and a conference room and a seminar room on the 3rd floor. These facilities are suitable for reception as well as for various meetings of academic societies, alumni and study groups. UTokyo World Café (TWC) and Greater UTokyo Juku (GTJ), which are both programs for alumni to promote their life-long learning, are holding their meetings in this facility.

ItoCenterFirstFlRestaurant

Restaurant (1F)

Especially pleasing to the alumni are the restaurant and café on the first floor and the faculty club on the 2nd floor. The restaurant becomes crowded by Hongo students, professors and local residents during lunch and dinner time. Compared to other eating spots in the Hongo campus, the Ito Center’s restaurant is more up-scale with the price of lunch ranging from 1,500 to 4,500 yen, and that of dinner from 3,000 to 7,000 yen: they are all course menus.

ItoCenterSecondFlFacultyClub

Faculty Club (2F)

The faculty club is perfect for a party of 40-50 guests. This salon with a cocktail service is frequently rented out to groups such as various Komaba alumni groups.

This snug space of brick structure in Hongo awaits your visit in the near future! For inquiries, call 03-5841-0779 (weekdays, 9 am to 5:30 pm), fax to 03-5841-0932, or email to itocenteratml.adm.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Visit its website www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ext01/iirc/

ItoCenter2By clicking here, you can read the speech text (in Japanese) delivered by Mr. Masatoshi Ito at the Inauguration Ceremony held on May 22, 2012, which you may find quite moving.


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