Please note the start time for this event is 7pm, Ann Arbor time.

Most visitors come to Japan for the history and culture (both traditional and modern), but Japan has much more to offer. Niseko, Hokkaido, for example, has become an international skiing destination. Kirk Patterson thinks that Japan has what it takes to become a marine tourism mecca, attracting people from around the world who want to swim, surf, kayak, sail, fish….or just enjoy leisurely strolls on beautiful beaches….and savor delicious Japanese seafood in the evening.

Kirk Patterson had a 25-year management career in Tokyo, including cofounding Japan’s first investor relations company; being AIG’s Regional VP for Corporate Communications in Japan and Korea; and serving as president/dean of Temple University Japan. He took early retirement in 2007 to pursue his long-delayed desire to become an offshore sailor, returning to Canada and spending four years teaching himself how to sail. He then sailed to Hawaii (where he spent a year working as a Waikiki bartender) and then on to Japan, devoting three years to a full circumnavigation of the country (the first by a foreigner) and then another three years cruising western Japan. He swallowed the anchor two years ago and now, based in Fukuoka, operates Konpira Consulting, a marine-tourism company.

Register for this Zoom event here: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z3u_0SC3TVu3vx5xdP03hQ

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.