"An Association Of Life Savers And Care Givers That Served In Post world War II"

Important News About The 2011 Reunion Trip To Japan

Linda Smith will be arranging for our 2011 trip to Japan and will be accompanying us on the trip. We are planning to arrange our trip for LATE SEPTEMBER OR EARLY OCTOBER, 2011. The length of our tour will be approximately 7-10 days, including travel time.

The plan is to have everyone meet in San Francisco the night before our travel to Japan. Linda knows of an airport hotel that is inexpensive and has park and fly options for those who drive. We could have a Welcome Reception and maybe a membership meeting that night.

The trip is open to all USAMCJA members and as many guests as they want to take with them. Due to the nature of the trip, the minimum aage for this trip is 18, with possible exceptions, however, we would like to keep this as an adult age trip.

Upon arrival in Japan, we plan to travel and stay near Camp Zama. The next day, we would have a meeting/banquet with the Japanese Association and either after or before have a tour of Camp Zama and the area where the Hospital used to be, etc, and the following day, start our travel. The itinerary beyond this has not yet been established. We are thinking about a tour of Tokyo, maybe Kamakura, the home of the large Buddha, maybe Mount Fuji and Hakone, then Kyoto, and it has been suggested that we visit Hiroshima and/or Nagasaki.

Linda will adjust your return ticket if you wish to extend your stay in Japan. Linda will assist you with any further accomodations, rail or air tickets, tours, etc, that you may request.

It is not possible to give a fixed cost at this time, although from the cost of recent trips, it appears that the cost will be $2,200 to $2,800 per person, based on tywo people sharing a room. A single person will pay more for a room by themselves and if there are 3-4 of you, you will probably have to take two rooms, as rooms for three are rare and small.. Cost would include airfare to and from Japan, cost of all tours, and accomodations, all taxes, and willvary by individual, depending on where you live in  the US and on  whether you extend your stay in Japan.

No meals are included in this price except what may be included with a tour, which would bee one or two meals for the entire trip. Hotels do include breakfast with their rooms for an extra fee. Depending on the hotel, this can be quite an extensive choice buffet or just a simple meal. The cost is usually less than you would pay if you ate at the hotel and not had it included in your room. It is also more convenient since some hotels have a later serving time for those that have purchased the breakfast with their rooms. If you are interested, this can be arranged on an individual basis.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what to include in this trip, please forward them to us at frankguinn@aol.com or mail them to Frank Guinn, 1207 Canterbury Drive, Sykesville, MD 21784 and/or you can contact Linda at CVC Travel, 3739 Balboa Street, Suite 106, San Francisco CA 94121.

PASSPORTS: A valid passport is required for tourist visa free stays of up to 90  days. Passports must be valid for the intended period of stay in Japan. Processing time for new or renewal passports can take considerable time because of the "9/11" security changes. You can obtain further information regarding entry into Japan at travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_1148.html.

Frank and Kazue Guinn

Reunion Planners