29th Salt Water Intrusion Meeting · Okinawa, Japan

Activities & Excursions

Activities & Excursions

SWIM 2027 will offer a range of social activities and technical excursions designed to showcase the hydrogeology, culture and natural beauty of Okinawa. Final details, capacities, and sign-up will be available through the registration portal.

Welcome Reception

Sunday 6 June · Okinawa Convention Center
An informal reception with local Okinawan food and drinks to welcome delegates and reconnect with colleagues from previous SWIM meetings.

Football Match

Tuesday 8 June · evening
A friendly football match, open to all delegates. Come to play, or simply to watch and cheer. Teams will be made up on the day. The pitch and the kick-off time will be announced in the first circular.

Mid-Conference Field Trip (Wednesday 9 June)

A single, integrated day-trip through southern Okinawa Main Island, combining underground dam and submarine-groundwater-discharge (SGD) sites with karst caves and springs. The route illustrates the land–ocean interaction theme of SWIM 2027 from multiple angles — engineered groundwater control, natural discharge, and karst hydrology. To ensure a quality experience at each site, the ~100 delegates will be divided into 4 rotating groups of ~25. All delegates travel together by chartered coaches, with lunch included.

Departure and return: Okinawa Convention Center. Full day.

The principal sites are:

  • Komesu & Giza Underground Dams (Itoman) — among Japan's pioneering underground dams, built in the Ryukyu Limestone aquifer of southern Itoman to control salt water intrusion and secure agricultural water.
  • Nashiro Beach SGD site (Itoman) — submarine groundwater discharge from the limestone aquifer, observable directly at the shoreline; the downstream consequence of the underground dams on coastal fluxes.
  • Gangala Valley (ガンガラーの谷) (Nanjō) — a subtropical karst valley formed by the collapse of a limestone cave roof, with cave springs and ecosystems hosted by karst groundwater.
  • Gyokusendō Cave (玉泉洞) (Nanjō) — one of Japan's largest Ryukyu Limestone show caves, with active dripstones and an underground stream; a textbook karst aquifer.
  • A coastal site on the south-eastern shore (Nanjō) — where fresh groundwater from the Ryukyu Limestone reaches the sea.

The order of the visits, the timings and the final coastal site are still being settled with local operators. The full itinerary will be announced in the first circular.

Observation pit of the Komesu Underground Dam in southern Okinawa, one of the stops on the day-trip Researchers conducting submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) chamber measurements on the tidal flat at Nashiro Beach, southern Okinawa Limestone cliffs and hanging banyan roots of Gangala Valley, a subtropical karst valley formed by the collapse of a Ryukyu Limestone cave roof Traditional Okinawan shisa guardian along the day-trip route

Conference Dinner

Thursday 10 June
The conference dinner will feature traditional Okinawan cuisine and Ryukyuan music and dance performances at a venue overlooking the East China Sea.