Kyushu Alumni Tour – September 2019
Return to Japan to experience an all-new program for Lean Japan Tour Alumni only
In September 2019, Shinka Management invite our past participants of the Lean Japan Tour to the beautiful southern island of Kyushu. A completely new selection of company visits has been arranged in the prefectures of Fukuoka and Oita.
Also joining us for this special event will be Akinori Hyodo, the former manager of the Toyota HiAce plant. He will lead seminars and plant visit discussions throughout the week.
The tour will be held on Sunday 22nd September through Saturday 28th September, and will include kaizen seminars and visits to factories for meetings with senior management.
The tour coincides with the Rugby World Cup. A great opportunity to also take in the atmosphere of the event’s host country.

For further details of the tour and to read about past visits see our kaizen tour page.
Contact us to express your interest in participating.
The September 2019 tour is open to all past participants of the Lean Japan Tour.
Example Itinerary (subject to change)
Sunday: Arrive Fukuoka
- Fukuoka free time
- Orientation & Seminar with former Toyota factory manager
Monday: Fukuoka – Site Visits & Training
- Seminar with former Toyota factory manager
- Toyota Motor Kyushu factory visit
Tuesday: Fukuoka – Site Visits & Training
- Seminar with former Toyota factory manager
- Toyota Motor Kyushu factory visit
Wednesday: Oita- Site Visits & Training
- Fundokin miso factory visit
- Fundokin salad dressing factory visit
Thursday: Oita – Site Visits
- Omron Taiyo factory visit
- Toto factory visit
Friday: Oita – Site Visit & Debriefing
- Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal factory visit
- Oita City Government
Saturday: Oita – Recovery and Sightseeing
- Oita sightseeing
- Departure from Fukuoka Airport
Learn more about our Lean Japan Tour
The Lean Japan Tour is Shinka Management’s flagship lean professional development program. For further detail about our lean Japan tours, see the Lean Japan Tour page, or read more about past participants’ Lean Mission Testimonials.
What our tour participants have said…
Thank you, Shinka Management, for providing me with the opportunity to learn more about Kaizen. As a Quality practitioner, witnessing the evolution of Toyota and its implementation of Kaizen has been amazing. Learning how to adapt Kaizen principles from manufacturing for implementation within a hospital setting has been truly inspiring. Again, thank you Shinka Management!…
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The Lean Japan Tour with Shinka Management was an inspiring and transformative experience. Seeing lean practices in action and learning from Japanese companies was truly eye-opening. This journey has motivated me to embrace lean principles in my own work. Big thanks to Shinka Management for such an enriching program — I highly recommend it!
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I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn the Toyota Production System from the source. I look forward to implementing the many findings in our plant. This experience has given me a different approach to improving our plant’s lean journey. Thank you again for everything.
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Businesses need every weapon at their disposal to help compete in a global market. This tour opens up more ideas and opportunities and is highly recommended to manufacturers, engineering or service related industries. Everyone can learn something on this tour! Paul and Ben have done a marvelous job of putting together an action-packed week, which…
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The Lean Japan Tour allowed me to understand in a practical and conceptual way the real essence of just-in-time and operational efficiency. The dedication of the team and their attention to detail have made this an unforgettable experience.
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Contact us about a Lean Japan Tour
Speak to us about our tours.