Spring herb festival under way in Kobe: A spring herb festival is being held at Nunobiki Herb Park in Kobe's Chuo Ward until May 25.

The park grows about 200 varieties of herbs on a mountain slope in Kobe. During the festival, chamomile and other kinds of spring herbs will be in bloom.

A variety of events will be held, including free concerts on April 20, April 27 and May 3 to May 5; a demonstration of flower perfume blending on May 25; and herb handicraft classes on Sundays and national holidays.

To get to the park, take the Shin-Kobe Ropeway to Nunobiki Herb-en Station from Kitano 1-chome Station, which is a five-minute walk from the JR Shin-Kobe station and the Shin-Kobe subway station.

Admission is 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for elementary and junior high school students. The park will be open between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day, except for Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays, when it will close at 8:30 p.m.

For more information, call the park at (078) 271-1131, fax (078) 271-1133 or visit its Web site: www.kobe-park.or.jp/herb/

Russian, Chinese, Indian crafts exhibited: Kobe Cross Cultural Center is sponsoring an exhibition of international artworks and handicrafts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 24 and April 25 at Harada-no-Mori Gallery in Nada Ward, Kobe.

Works to be displayed include Scandinavian weaving, Indian mirror work, Chinese ink paintings, Russian clay dolls and other crafts from the center's international art classes program.

There will be a performance of Asian folk music, dance and costumes. Demonstrations of ikebana flower arranging and Chinese paintings will be given, while concerts by international communities and schools will also be held. At the end of the exhibition, a raffle will be held with winners getting overnight stays at Kobe hotels and other prizes.

Entrance is free and raffle tickets are 300 yen.

The venue is a five-minute walk from Oji Koen Station on the Hankyu Line, a 10-minute walk from Nada Station on the JR Line or a 15-minute walk from Iwaya Station on the Hanshin Line.

For more details, call the organizer at (078) 646-7100, fax (078) 646-7200 or e-mail: [email protected]

Dawn Center holding meetings for women: Osaka Prefectural Women's Center (The Dawn Center) is inviting non-Japanese women to its monthly discussion and consultation meeting focusing on the issues often faced by foreign women living in Japan. The event will be at the group's center in Chuo Ward, Osaka.

Individual consultations with a counselor are available to Korean-speaking women, while discussion and consultation meetings are available to Chinese and English-speaking women. The discussion group will focus on common problems such as cultural differences, employment, marriage and child care.

The consultation meeting for Korean-speaking women is held every first Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., except in May and January when it will be held on the second Saturday. The Chinese-language session is conducted every second Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., and the meeting in English is held every third Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. All the sessions will run until next March.

Discussion groups are limited to 15 people. There is no admission fee and reservations are not required.

To get to the Dawn Center, walk 350 meters east from Tenmabashi Station on the Tanimachi subway line.

For more information, call the center at (06) 6910-8588.

Turkey seminar focuses on sex, music and more: The Japan-Turkey Culture Society is seeking participants for its two-day seminar series introducing Turkey on May 3 and May 4 at the Campus Plaza Kyoto building in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto.

Six lectures will be provided by Turkish and Japanese specialists on topics such as history, comparisons with Japanese society, Islamic traditions, relations with Europe, marriage and sex and Turkish folk music and dance. All the sessions will be conducted in Japanese.

Admission is 800 yen for a seminar, 2,000 yen for one day and 3,500 yen for both days. Applications are required.

The venue is in front of the JR Kyoto Station building. Call the organizer for a schedule.

For applications and more information, call the organizer at (075) 255-7530 or visit its Web site: www7.plala.or.jp/kyoto-nitto/index.html