Welcome to the Denver Takayama Sister City Committee
activities page
Our coming events, background, some past activities, related organizations
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Galleries and Past Activities
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==> The Yatai project
Pictures from 2018 events
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Other organization's activities
Currently the calendar is empty
Volunteer opportunities
While many committee activities are on hiatus due to the coronavirus, we have a web page that encourages you to share thoughts and creations with the committee.
Steve Comstock, previous chairman of the committee, accepts an award on behalf
of the committee from Midori Takeuchi, the Consul General of Japan
in Denver. The award is a special commendation to our committee,
jointly with the Takayama Denver Friendship Association, "for outstanding
contributions to strengthen US-Japan relations through their joint
activities over the last 60 years", awarded on July 29, 2020.
Join us in Japan!
In Pursuit of
Japanese Fall Colors
The Denver Takayama Sister City Committee is planning a fall trip
to Japan, to view the fall colors and visit our friends in Takayama!
From October 30 through November 12.
Starting near the northenmost spot in the main island of Honshu and
traveling down to visit Tokyo then on to Takayama before heading home.
This trip features travel on Japan's famed rail services, including several segments on shinkansen - bullet trains; a stay in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), stunning views throughout the country and amazing foods and sights.
For two weeks visit this beautiful, mysterious country and revel in a whole different world.
The cost is $4,865 per person, double occupancy, including:
- All lodging and land transportation
- All breakfasts and five dinners
- Admissions and tours of selected sites
- Two trip leaders from our committee
- A tax deductible donation to the committee to support our student exchanges
The cost does not include:
- Airfare
- Single supplement charge
- Meals not mentioned above
- Personal items purchased in country
Special note: there is some chance Japan will not have re-opened its borders to travelers, in which case the trip will need to be cancelled. If that happens up to 30 days before departure, you will not lose any money.
If you want more information, or are ready to sign up, please contact Kay Fahlberg, our travel advisor from Ippo Travel, at 720-773-0039. Or you can email her here
If you are planning on traveling to Japan, with our group or on your own, it would help to have some background information. Here is some useful information about traveling to, and within, Japan
Click here to get coronavirus information for Japan
Events and Upcoming Activities
Virtual book club meeting
Tuesday July 6: 7:00-8:30-ish; location: online via Zoom.
Informal get together to discuss the book "Strange Weather in Tokyo"
by Hiromi Kawakami.
From the
Anna
Purna Express:
Strange Weather in Tokyo is basically a love story, tinged with melancholy.
Tsukiko, 37, meets her old high school Japanese teacher, 30 years her senior,
whom she refers to only as ‘Sensei’, at a bar. From there on, the two come
together, on and off, because of their shared love for sake, beer and traditional
Japanese dishes. They have terse, awkward conversations but find they connect
on an emotional level. However, neither knows how to describe or express what
they are feeling. That leads to a series of bizarre dates, with Tsukiko and
Sensei both trying to figure out how best to navigate the situation they are in.
The book is divided into short chapters, each of which could have been a short
story in itself. Also, it’s character driven rather than story or narrative driven.
Kawakami’s characters are charming, albeit a bit weird, and thus memorable.
There are also mentions of many kinds of food, their descriptions so vivid it
feels like an elaborate set up is right in front of you. The story is slow
but the writing, which is crisp and clean, makes it worthwhile. You know much
of what there is to know about the characters and how they think despite the
book being so slim. The best part of Strange Weather in Tokyo is that it’s a
different story convincingly told.
Email Steve Comstock
to request the Zoom meeting info (If you have trouble, simply send an email to steve@trainersfriend.com.)
All are welcome, but please let Steve know you wish to attend so he can send you the link
for the Zoom session
Click here to see who has already signed up to come
Regular monthly meeting
(Our monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month)
Tuesday July 20th: 7:00-8:00-ish; location: online via Zoom.
Click here to request the Zoom meeting info (If you have trouble, simply send an email to gilasakawa@gmail.com.)
Find out about the Committee calendar, budgets, and so on ...
A look back at activities and
involvement of members and friends during 2019 - a retrospective
(.pdf document) (Last updated 11 January, 2020)
And a look at the impact of our committee in the
community in 2019 - (.pdf document) volunteer hours and dollars spent doing our work.
(Last updated 11 January, 2020
Why Denver Takayama is relevant to the larger community - Japanese, Japanese-American, all interested in Japan - in Denver and Colorado (.pdf document) (Last revised 1 February, 2017)
Denver / Takayama: the first 50 Years an historical record in English and Japanese. (.pdf document) (Last revised 23 August, 2010)
Technical paper on emails
(.pdf document - Some thoughts on how to make email safer from hackers and more effective)
(Written 26 March, 2015)
Getting a gun in Japan
(.pdf document) - No matter where you fall on the gun control issue, this article
I found on Facebook has some intriguing ideas.
(Uploaded 11 March, 2018)
Other Organization's Activities
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