JAPAN TRIP COMMUNICATION 8 

Budo Trip to Japan – February 15, 2025 

Sada Honda:   

Target Dates of Departure and the Return  

Received a complete schedule from Budokan on their suggested program. The Budokan related practice and meeting program now sets to start on June 16th, Monday to June 21st Saturday or the 22nd Sunday at the latest.  

And this is mostly for the Karateka in the Budo Exploration Group. The second week that starts June 23, M, to June 28, Sat, the Karateka join in the trips with partners, family of the Tour Group to Kamakura to Atami (hot spring near the Mt. Fuji-scenic) to Kobe, Kyoto and Nara. 

We are adding to Budokan schedule the places and Dojos (Karate and other Budo we would like to learn and meet Shihan level instructors or Souke level folks to learn from them the principle, philosophy, basic techniques of their Budo such as Aiki, Judo, Kendo, Jyodo, Naginata, Shorinji Kenpo, Kyudo…This is in the first week. 

While the Tour Group will visit, shop and enjoy real Japanese cuisine in the first week, traveling with a guide in the interesting places in Tokyo and in the neighboring prefecture-Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa. We suggest the readers to begin studying the highlight points they would like to visit and LET US KNOW their preference. Most of the American visitors now a days feel safe and comfortable to visit the places in these places using a bi-lingual computer (cell phones) by themselves. We hear however tickets or entrance times to places, shrine, Kabuki, Museum, shopping areas can be secured more efficiently if you have a Japanese speaker. And that is the reason of we suggest to hire guides to make sure you can enjoy the timely visits. 

The guides we used in the past trips are available and the cost is lower than the normal charges of hiring a professional guide. 

Please continue to monitor on the airplane, bullet train, rail pass deals using the given reliable agents of the following: 

For the flight to Tokyo and back from Japan, you can contact: RIKA SASAKI of Kintetsu Travel’s LA office. She is a bi-lingual American (originally from Japan). We used her in the past two trips to Budokan. Kintetsu International America Company. PLS continue monitoring the air flight costs to Japan from LA or from Pittsburgh or Boston. 

a division of Kintetsu International Express (U.S.A.), Inc. 

T: 310-525-1800 | D:310-879-6810 

E: Rika.Sasaki@kintetsu.com 

Don’t purchase your tickets yet until such time Rika says ‘This will be the best price to Haneda airport in the out skirts of Tokyo. The Limo buss will take you to the hotel directly. 

I was told by my contacts that it could be cheaper to Haneda from Pittsburgh by way of Toronto and using Air Candan and such. This was what we did in 2017 and 2019. 

Another travel agency I contacted is called Japan Travel Bureau -JTB. We have never used this, but they have been very reputable and credible agency. Some of the folks there are bi-lingual but not as good as Rika of Kintetsu. 

T: 1-800-700-1540; 212-698-4883  

JTB have several offices throughout the USA. Also, there are two separate service groups, one is for ‘hotels’ and the other is on the ‘airline tickets’. I thought JTB comes up with cheaper air prices than Kintetsu. They do have infor. on the plane that leaves LA or other West Coast. But for those who leaves from the East Coast cities like us, they are more informative. But we do not have to purchase tickets this soon.  

Keep clicking a website by the name of Hopper (HOPPER). You can see a list of good priced ticket to Haneda. 

In the last trips, some of us purchased the travel insurance, for just in case. 

As before I will ask my cousin in the western suburb of Tokyo (near Yokohama) who is a doctor to help you our just in case you have any trouble. His name is Dr. Manzo （Masamitsu) Honda. He can advise you what to do when you are suddenly in sickness. His web: https://www.shinyuri-hospital.com/tourokui/kanagawa/other/hondaSanfujinkaNaika.html 

I am looking into finding somebody who can teach us the basic Japanese for Karate members. There are some differences in appropriate expressions we use for dealing with the executives, shihans and senior members of the organizations we meet. 

Bruce Kanegai, Shihan, Head of West Coast Operations is asked for Assistant Tour Planner. I will ask Bruce to come up with the idea of our gifts to Budokan, Waseda, Keio, Kokusai Budo Univ. And a small gift to the senseis and friends we meet in Japan. In the past, we gave the Steeler hats, shirts, See’s candy, may be Mumon shirt… 

Ken Maxwell, Shihan Dai and Head of East Coast Operations of Mumon as an Assistant Tour Planner and Implementer.  

I ask Ken to keep track of the meeting memos during the visit, photos, and infor gathering such as things Mumon can use in our Dojos in the USA upon returning. Things such as Taiko, Exercise tools we might be able to display, table-dojo filling-to display the photos of master F. I am thinking of beefing up the inside of our rental property to be decorated with some displays, taiko (use as the start and finish of our practice). I ask also to Ken to look into the protection tools the Japanese youths and/or adults use in Japan, and take photos of the equipment they use and ask for catalogs. 

Diane Hasse, Dojo Development and 3 Dan in AZ 

I ask her also to look into the protection tools the Japanese youths and/or adults use in Japan, and take photos of the equipment they use and ask for catalogs. 

Doug Gilbert, Chief of Pittsburgh Area Operations and Chair at Headquarters, as an Assistant Tour Planner and Implementer. Doug like Ken to keep track of the messages by the presenters, brochures we receive and perhaps gifts we will get from our hosts. Also, photos and video taking. We will publish our visits in our local newspapers and publication opportunities and also in our websites. 

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Paul Kovacs, Head of Mumon Affiliate Dojo called Mount Lebanon Karate and Mumon. Paul went twice in the past to visit Budokan and then the tour of Tokyo, Kamakura, Osaka areas, and Kyoto. Paul also knows as to the protocol of meeting the dignitaries of Budokan and the teachers at Waseda U, Keio U… 

Paul will give presentations, comments and greetings as required and necessary. He has his past experience that drew good comments from various hosts.