Community Connections
- April 2016
Community Connections is a column written by a Hiroshima City C.I.R., in which ways of making connections with people or local communities are introduced.
What is a C.I.R. (Coordinator for International Relations)?
A Coordinator for International Relations, or C.I.R. for short, is a participant on the JET Programme who assists local government offices in international exchange at the local level.
Reserving Public Facilities Online
By KARLEE KEYSER
[pdf,221KB,1page]
Have you ever wanted to make a special meal for friends or an event, only to remember that you don’t have an oven at home? What about a secret desire to see what it’s like to be in a band? Maybe you just want to have a meeting place away from home, where you can talk or do activities with people in your social circle? Hiroshima City public facilities may be the answer! I recently learned about the Hiroshima Public Facilities Reservation System, which makes it easy for regular citizens to reserve and/or check the availability of public facilities – online! Here’s a list of facilities included in this system:
| Online Reservations & Availability Check | Online Availability Check Only |
| Community Centers (kouminkan) | Ward Sports Centers & Yuki Gymnasium |
| Hiroshima City Youth Center | JMS Aster Plaza & Ward Cultural Centers |
| Yui Port (Gender Equality Center) | Youthtopia (Working Youth Home) |
| GOJINSHA Wendy Hito-Machi Plaza | …and more! |
The one thing to remember: You can’t start reserving facilities on a whim. Though you don’t need to log in just to see different facilities’ availability, you do need to log in if you actually plan to reserve them online. This means that you need an account number and a password, which you can receive by following Step 1, below. Do all this and you can enjoy making convenient, online reservations of city facilities!
Reservation Process
- Step 1: Register for an Account
- First, fill out and submit a hardcopy application form to your local ward office’s help desk (madoguchi, 窓口), from whom you’ll receive your account number and password. (Skip this step if you are only interested in checking facility availability.)
- Step 2: Check Facility Availability
- Second, check facility availability by accessing the Public Facilities Reservation System website (https://yoyaku.e-harp.jp/hiroshima) and clicking 空き施設検索 From here, you can enter search criteria such as facility name, geographic area, type of activity (e.g. sports and cultural activities), date, and time.
- Step 3: Submit Your Reservation
- Third, submit a reservation request to a facility. Depending on the facility and your desired reservation date, the facility’s calendar may indicate that reservations are by phone only (
), or can be made over the internet (
). Note that internet reservations are subject to the approval of each respective facility. - Step 4: Submit Necessary Forms/Fees (When Applicable)
- Lastly, fill out any forms or fees specific to your reserved facility (please ask your desired facility about this step).