 Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple at sunset, September 2005. Japan continues to be a delightful combination of history and modernity, with touches of the future thrown in. |
Japan 2007: A Journey through the Unexplored
Boso Peninsula
Crossing the Bridge Between the Monterey Bay Region
and Minamiboso
A Lydon-Mizoguchi Adventure
9 Days and 8 nights
Dates: Depart from San
Francisco Airport on Friday, May 11 on Japan Airlines
Return to San Francisco Airport on Sunday, May 20
With an optional Tokyo-Kyoto Extension
May 20 – May 27. MORE
INFO
A rare opportunity to get to know the people and landscape of Japan.
With the people of Minamiboso as our guides and a beautiful full-service
hotel as our base, we will explore the Southern Boso Peninsula of Japan.
It is a land of beautiful seacoast and forested hills punctuated with
temples and shrines and filled with friends waiting to show you their
history and culture.
 The Boso Peninsula. Narita International Airport is highlighted in the upper right, Tokyo in the upper left, and Tateyama is highlighted at the bottom. click map to enlarge |
No
unpacking and packing. We will settle into the Tomiura
Royal Hotel just outside Tateyama City and explore a place as diverse
as the Monterey Bay Region.
The Hotel. The Tomiura
Hotel is a wonderful hotel located north of Tateyama City atop a wooded
peninsula overlooking Tokyo Bay. A five-minute walk along a wooded trail
takes you to the clear warm waters of the bay where you can explore,
swim, beach comb and gather pockets full of beautiful shells. The management
and staff of the hotel are ready and waiting to show us true Japanese
hospitality. A Japanese bath complex in the hotel basement waits at
day’s end for decompressing, as only the Japanese truly understand.
 The Tomiura Royal Hotel rests atop a peninsula overlooking Tokyo Bay. Hiking trails surround the hotel and it is but a short walk down to a lovely beach and the clear waters of Tokyo Bay. |
More photographs of the Tomiura Hotel, click HERE.
A Note About Personal Friendships.
Many foreigners who have lived in Japan for years have never been invited
home by their Japanese friends nor have the personal relationships that
we have with our friends on the Boso Peninsula.
 Japan 2005 group with ama divers. We will reunite with the divers in 2007 and are making arrangements to permit those who wish to dive with them. |
Exercising both body and mind.
As we wander through the Japanese countryside and interact with our
friends, you will discover the remarkable similarities between the Monterey
Bay Region and Minamiboso. We will explore ideas as we explore the countryside.
Things we share:
• Facing
the Pacific. We share spectacular coastal scenery. Santa Cruz
County’s North Coast and the Monterey Peninsula are strikingly
similar to the Boso Peninsula
• A tourist
destination for nearby urban centers. The Monterey Bay Region
serves as a getaway for the San Francisco Bay Area, while Minamiboso
is Tokyo’s “away.” We both experience weekend visitor
traffic.
• Commuting.
Many of the residents of the Monterey Bay region work elsewhere, as
do those living in Minamiboso. How do they compare?
• The challenge
of landscape. Both places are confronted with a rugged irregular
coastline backed by ridges of mountains. How have they addressed the
issue of accessibility? How have we?
• A tradition
of making a living from the sea. From fishing and diving to
shore whaling, we share an historic dependence on the sea. We will explore
how and why it is that most of the industries continue in Japan while
they don’t in California. Are their marine resources in better
shape than ours?
• Earthquakes
and tidal waves. Both places are perched on the Pacific Ring
of Fire, and both have been visited by devastating earthquakes. Minamiboso
was leveled in the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923, while
the Monterey Bay Region was hammered in both the 1906 earthquake the
Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989. We will explore the different attitudes
and levels of preparation in the two places. How and why do they keep
their earthquake memory alive and we don’t?
• Agricultural
roots. Minamiboso is famous for its gentle climate and rich
soils. How does contemporary Japanese agriculture compare with that
in California?
• Flower
growing. Both places have long-established flower growing industries.
We’ll explore the similarities and differences.
• Surfing.
The surfing culture that began on the California coast has migrated
to Japan. We will explore the surfing area of Kamogawa and compare it
with Santa Cruz.
• Abalone.
Perhaps one of our strongest bonds with Minamiboso is the industry and
culture of harvesting abalone. We will explore that thread including
the creatures, the tradition and contemporary science and harvesting
of abalone.
• Immigration
and minorities. Though the magnitude of immigration of non-Japanese
to Minamiboso has been less than the immigration of diverse people to
the Monterey Bay Region, the Japanese are learning to live with Chinese,
Korean and Filipino immigrants. How are they doing?
• World
War II. We have the shared experience of World War II, with
military installations being built facing each other across the Pacific.
We will explore those installations in Japan and discuss the memory
of the war on both sides of the Pacific.
• Deep and
rich histories. Both places have diverse and fascinating histories.
How are the Japanese preserving theirs? Or are they? Are we?
• Temples
and religious retreats. Both places have rich religious traditions
and both places are dotted with churches, temples and religious encampments.
How do they compare?
• Concern
for the future. The people of Minamiboso are connected to international
events just as we are. How are they coping with an increasingly tumultuous
and violent future?
• Concern
for the environment. We both share a commitment to the environment.
How are the people of Minamiboso taking action to improve theirs. And
how are we? We will learn about the resurgence of the age-old Japanese
concept known as “Mottaini.”
 We will be exploring the World War II tunnel complexes. Few Americans have been in the tunnels since American GIs swept them in September of 1945. |
 We will visit the “scream of stone” the only monument in Japan commemorating the comfort women of World War II. This is a very special and powerful place, rarely visited even by the Japanese. |
 The terraced rice paddies are part of a current movement in Japan to preserve some of the old, traditional farming methods. We will visit them and have a discussion with the people who are maintaining them. |
Size of the group: Limited to 30 adventurers.
Price: $3,755 per person double occupancy (Single Supplement is $900)
The above price is based on the value of the US dollar as of August 1, 2006. We reserve the right to increase or decrease the price of the trip based on the exchange rate 30 days prior to departure. Also, there is always a chance for airline fuel surcharges depending on sudden raises of the price of fuel.
Deposit: $500 (final payment due February 15, 2007)
What’s Included:
• Round Trip air fare SFO to Japan on an IATA Carrier, Coach Class
• All arrival and departure transfers, baggage handling and tips to porters
• First class hotels with Western-style bathroom facilities
• All sightseeing by private motor coach
• All admissions to included sites
• Most meals including all breakfasts (choice of Japanese or American-style buffet), special lunches and dinners
• English speaking guides
• Mandatory Trip Cancellation Insurance including pre-existing condition waiver
• Pre-trip meetings including Japanese language instruction
• Personally escorted by Sandy Lydon who has been traveling to Japan since 1965 and escorting groups since 1974. Escorts in Minamiboso will include Kaori Mizoguchi and Yoshie Mitsuhashi, both bi-lingual and accomplished tour guides.
Not Included:
• Items of a personal nature, optional sightseeing, telephone, fax,
computer charges, room service, laundry, surfing or diving equipment, shopping, etc.
• Single supplement of $900 whether by choice or circumstance
of the group’s final number.
• Transportation from home to SFO
• 3% handling fee for credit card transactions now imposed by suppliers.
• Passport fees
• Anything else not specified in the “included” list.
Knowing something of the place and its customs. This is not a typical group tour. We are visiting friends. So, we will take the time to become familiar with Japanese customs and protocol, learn a little history and become conversant with some basic elements of the language. There’s nothing more wondrous than to be able to respond to our Japanese friends in their language – even if we mess up the pronunciation, they will appreciate our efforts. Unlike some other cultures across the globe, the Japanese do not make fun of people who butcher their language – they are grateful that we made the effort.
 Group members going through a Japanese language drill prior to the September 2005 trip. The meetings provide a wonderful opportunity for group members to get to know each other prior to departure. |
Four required Sunday afternoon pre-trip meetings
• January 28, 2007-- 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• February 25, 2007-- 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• March 25, 2007 – 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• April 29, 2007 – 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
All tour participants will be required to attend these sessions unless they live outside Northern California. Those living outside Northern California will be required to come into San Francisco a day early for an afternoon orientation session on Thursday, May 10 at the El Rancho Inn, Millbrae. (The May 10th overnight will be your own expense.)
What makes our tours so special?
• No one-night stands! We stay a minimum of three nights in each location. The pace is leisurely with plenty of time to decompress.
• Well-located hotels! Each hotel has all the amenities you would expect in a high-end property. And each is located to afford opportunities right outside the door. From the temples just around the corner from the Tokyo Metropolitan to the multi-story shopping complex right across the street in Kyoto. The Tomiura Royal Hotel overlooks Tokyo Bay and beaches and tidepools within a five minute walk.
• Free time to explore on your own! Each stop begins with an orientation to the city and a day tour to some of that city’s well-known (and less well-known) sights. Then you will have an entire day to explore. Scratch that museum itch, spend an entire afternoon in a Zen garden, or shop to your heart’s content. With this itinerary you get the best of both worlds.
• An informed and sensitive group of fellow travelers. One of the great risks of traveling with a group is that you’ll get stuck with some boors that will annoy and embarrass you each and every day. Boors and those unable to be on time are removed long before we board the airplane. Most overseas travel groups never want to see each other again once the trip is over, but our Japan 2005 group continues to meet. Lifelong friendships often come from Lydon adventures. There’s even been a marriage or two.
• Go where and when the tourists don’t. All Japanese school children are in school in May. We know the best times of the day to visit many of the locations, so even if there are tourists out and about, we will be sliding around them. In some places on the Boso Peninsula you will be the first American visitors they’ve ever seen!
• Travel where people are happy to see you! The Japanese are famous for their hospitality and kindness, and we travel in places where the hard crust of familiarity has not had a chance to develop.
• Informed and sensitive tour leaders! Sandy Lydon has been traveling in Japan since 1965, and he knows the best places to visit and the best times to visit them. He has taught Japanese history for over forty years. In September 2005, our Tokyo-Osaka tour guide was taking notes when he was discussing this temple or that historic site and constantly saying, “I didn’t know that!” Kaori Mizoguchi is a native of Tateyama, and she knows her area as only a local can. They have been working together since 1995, and they are an unbeatable combination. Most importantly they enjoy showing you Japan!
Travel Arrangements: Dawson Global Ventures, Sonoma. We have been working with Barbara and Hugh Dawson for thirty years, and they have handled all our group arrangements to Europe (Ireland, the Isle of Man, Britain), and Asia (China, Hong Kong, and Japan.) They are the best.
See Our Frequently Asked Questions for more information
How to Apply
A completed application includes:
1) A completed Lydon application form. Download the pdf form here.
2) A completed Dawson application form. Download the pdf form here.
3) Include the required deposit ($500 per person for the Minamiboso portion; $1000 per person for the Minamiboso and Tokyo-Kyoto Extension) Make the check out to Dawson Global Ventures
4) Snail mail the forms and payment to:
Sandy Lydon
2255 Redwood Drive
Aptos, CA 95003
We hope you can join us! This is going to be a wonderful adventure!
Note: If you need applications sent to you, or have questions, don't hesitate to contact us:
Sandy Lydon
Telephone: 831-688-2374
E-mail: salydon@aol.com
Special Trip Preview, Sunday, November 5, 2006, Cabrillo College
For more information, click here
JAPAN 2007 FAQ's