Trip home page

Welcome to our place ...

... where we will plan our trip, with your input, from Denver to Japan in October, 2019! Note: you don't have to start in Denver, you can join us in Japan and continue on; we have had travelers join us from New York, Massachusetts, even Italy. So if the itinerary appeals to you, just go ahead and sign up.

 

We pride ourselves that our trips delve deeper: below the tourist façade. Of course, we visit many of the common attractions, but we also have some differences:

• We usually use public transportation like the locals do
• We stay in a wide variety of lodgings: western style hotels, a pension in the Japanese alps, a night in a Buhddist temple, and a night in the new-fangled robot hotel!
• The last two mornings in Japan you will have breakfast on your own, like the locals do, in a coffee shop, restaurant, or convenience store - this is by design
• In Takayama, Denver's Japanese sister city, we get up close to the matsuri (festival) and meet with locals

 

Whether this is your first time to Japan, or you are re-acquainting yourself to this charming, mysterious country, you will love visiting Tokyo, Osaka, Kanazawa, and Takayama.

 

Introduction to this tripsite

These webpages are for everyone involved in our adventure to find out more about this trip, and to keep informed as we get closer to our departure.

The focus of this trip is to explore Japan and, as often as possible, to go a little deeper than the usual tourist facade.

We will meet this second objective by using public transportation, finding little-known venues, and, in Takayama, by visiting the households of ordinary Japanese families.

In the box at left are links for you to find out:

• who else is taking this trip
• some ideas about the foods you might encounter and enjoy - or want to avoid
• information about the people who are helping make this trip happen (travel agents, contacts in our destination cities, and so on)
• events going on locally that you might be interested in because they provide opportunities to prepare and learn for this journey
• itinerary details
• pricing information
• some hints and tools to make the trip easier

 

You will also find links to provide information about the cities we will be visiting, resources you might find useful / helpful, and email addresses for your primary contacts.

 

Our trip is affiliated with Denver Sister Cities International (DSCI) and the Denver Takayama Sister City Committee (DTSCC). This means: to participate in the trip you must join DSCI. This is primarily for insurance purposes. If you are not a member, part of your trip fees will be applied towards a one-year membership.

 

What's new on this website?

We are regularly adding and updating pages on the website. To help you keep up with changes, below is a list of the changes in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top).

• 29 August, 2019 - Changed venue for 2nd orientation.
• 7 May, 2019 - Website and trip publicized.
• 30 April, 2019 - Website first available, although not publicized.