Independent Travel: Toyota Museum of Innovation and Technology
Independent Travel: Nagoya Castle
Optional Group Dinner
Day 5: Nagoya Area
Likely joined by Isao Yoshino and Ritsuo Shingo for the day
Orientation
Isao Yoshino, lecture + discussion
Lunch at Kura Sushi
Visit local elementary school
Visit Toyota Tier-3 supplier or another company + discussion
Reflection + Discussion
Welcome dinner!
Day 6: Nagoya Area & Toyota City
Likely joined by Isao Yoshino and Ritsuo Shingo for the day
Visit Toyota Tier 2 supplier (Mifune) + discussion
Lunch at traditional Japanese guesthouse garden restaurant
Visit Toyota Motor Corporation Plant and Kaikan Museum
Reflection + Discussion
Optional group dinner
Day 7: Nagano & Gunma Prefecture
Isao Yoshino to join for the day
Travel via private bus to Nagano Prefecture
Visit Ina Foods Industries + discussion
Lunch at Ina Foods’ garden restaurant
Sake brewery tour
Stay overnight at a ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel)
Group dinner and celebration
Local sightseeing and cultural experiences such as onsen, wearing yukata, and karaoke
Day 8: Ashikaga & Tokyo
Cultural experience – visit the Daruma Temple in Takasaki
Lunch in Ashikaga
Visit Ogura Metal + discussion
Travel via bullet train to Tokyo
Observe the “7-minute miracle” Shinkansen changeover at Tokyo Station
President of Tessei Shinkansen cleaning company, lecture + discussion
Check-in Hotel Metropolitan, Tokyo
Dinner on own in Tokyo
Day 9: Tokyo Area
Visit Tokyo-area company, TBC
Lunch in Tokyo
Isao Yoshino, lecture + discussion
Final discussion and wrap-up
“Graduation” with daruma doll
Optional group celebration dinner at one of Katie’s favorite restaurants in Tokyo
Day 10: Study Trip Concludes in Tokyo
Check out of Tokyo-based Hotel Metropolitan
Fly home – or extend your stay on your own
Day 11 & 12: Independent Explore Days in Tokyo
Research in progress
Day 13: Travel Day
Flight from Tokyo, Japan to Home
"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes