Our public kaikaku lean study tours are scheduled regularly each year as one-week trips. For private tours we offer customization of the kaikaku lean study tours, in theme, agenda and duration, from 3 to 14 days. The following is a description of a typical day by day experience of a one-week (7-day) lean benchmarking trip to Japan.

Day 1: Arrival. Hotel check in, casual reception, orientation & relaxation Facilitator and guides from Gemba meet participants at the airport and deliver participants to the hotel The group meets for a casual reception with a light dinner and orientation to the kaikaku experience Participants get to know each other, review the agenda and learn about Japanese culture, etiquette and a few useful Japanese phrases
Day 2: Go see learning. The eye-opening experience begins with tours, Q&A and small group discussions. Travel by chartered coach to host companies Introduction of "must see" points by Gemba Business overview presentation by the host company Guided plant tour and walk-through of their office and factory facilities Question and answer session with the company's senior management
Day 3: In-depth discussions. The misconceptions begin to melt away with more in-depth tours and Q&A sessions. Lean benchmarking tours continue Leaders from host companies share their experiences and lessons  “Breakout sessions” or discussions led by Gemba facilitators to review what was learned  Additional instruction in background history, theory, and Lean concepts will be given
Day 4: See Lean operations in action up-close and capture memories. Lean benchmarking tours continue Guest speaker sensei invited to share wisdom and answer participants’ questions Consolidate daily learning
Day 5: Filling up with ideas. Both notebooks and heads are full of ideas, next steps and concrete actions. Lean benchmarking tours continue Identify main themes from the week Each participant is challenged to identify concrete actions to take after returning home
Day 6: Sight-seeing. Relaxation, reflection, review of lessons learned. Visit famous sites for relaxation Free time for shopping, photos The kaikaku completion ceremony Coaching and feedback on individual kaikaku action plans Each participant challenged to state, "What I will do when I return to my country" Deliver completion certificates Celebration dinner
Day 7: Departure. Take high speed train to airport for some shopping, relaxation and a safe return home.

The Japan Kaikaku Experience is an opportunity to explore the workings of the best examples of Lean Manufacturing companies. No other one-week experience will give you better insight into the underlying principles of Lean and operational excellence.