Wide Awake Missions
Questions? 1.970.889.1102
WAM Tanzania
WAM Peru
WAM Promo Video
Tokyo, Japan
Missions Outreach
June 1 - 15, 2025
$4,890 * Ages 16+
20% Early Savings Ends July 10, 2024
Details and Basic Itinerary
Our trip to Tokyo, Japan will be so exciting as we partner with a ministry that has been sharing the Gospel in many creative and practical ways for decades right in the heart of Tokyo. We will also be part of a local church in Tokyo that is making a unique impact in young peoples lives!
Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreaches, we will be creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. Known for its thriving technology and automobile industries, Japan is among the most educated countries on earth. As a leader in the global community, it also has the 3rd strongest economy in the world. Over 70% of its 6,852 islands are uninhabitable, so most Japanese live in densely populated cities. The nation has the 10th largest population in the world. Almost 93% of its citizens practice Buddhism, Shintoism, or a combination of both, and roughly 1% are Christian. These stats show us that the country of Japan is ready to be introduced to a God full of grace, love, and is alive and transforming lives in Japan!
Our team will be sharing through many local church/ministry and school/day-camp outreaches, a community sports and arts outreach, and much more! We will hold special children/youth outreaches to non-Christian neighborhood kids as well as other potential unique opportunities like helping farmers harvest seaweed, village trips, cooking classes, creating YouTube videos, teaching Bible/English classes and more. We'll also get to encourage christians through friendships, games, sharing of testimonies, Bible studies and also partnering with them to share the gospel and teach young people more about the Bible.
Our free day adventures are going to be epic and may include; a Sumo Show Experience, a cruise on Lake Ashi while enjoying lunch at the foot of Mt. Fuji, and returning to Tokyo on the bullet train, consume and learn how to make legit ramen, touring Tokyo in the most eccentric way possible by driving a custom go-kart (with costumes!) or having an authentic samurai experience/workshop are just some of the many options!
So get ready as we prepare to embark on the ultimate journey to Japan!
What’s Included:
• Round-trip international flight from NYC, to Tokyo, Japan
• La Guardia Hampton Inn hotel accommodations (or similar) in New York City during training
• Hotel accommodations in Tokyo
• All in-country transportation to/from airports and to/from ministry sites throughout the trip
• Daily meals (3 per day) in NYC during training and all in-country meals (3 per day)
• Daily bottled water
• Trip t-shirt
• Medical Emergency Insurance
• All Free Day Excursions
What’s Not Included:
• Domestic flight from your hometown to New York City
• Passport
• Immunizations (see CDC button)
• Snacks in all transit airports and souvenirs
2025 Basic Trip Itinerary
( Subject to change. A comprehensive itinerary will be sent prior to the trip.)
June 1: Arrive NYC
Once you arrive, our airport greeting team will meet you at the airport and later that evening our team will have a special team welcome reception, dinner, special worship service and meeting.
DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: La Guardia Airport Hampton Inn
June 2/3: Depart NYC to Tokyo, Japan.
Arrive in Tokyo! The moment we walk into the airport we'll begin to feel the excitement increase as we suddenly realize we’re Tokyo. Our International ticket confirmation will be sent to you 2 weeks prior to departure.) After meeting our contacts in the airport, we will head to our hotel, regroup, and get in a nap and evening meeting with our ministry partners and their team.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 3: Tokyo. Hit the ground running with outreaches, adventure and ministry
We'll start the day with a unique way to discover Tokyo, A very fun scavenger hunt! In the afternoon our team will be doing outreaches into Tokyo and ministering with our team of young people we will be working with.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 4: Day 4 of Tour
Special children/youth outreaches, creating YouTube videos, teaching Bible/English classes, teaching a bible study, taking a Japanese cooking class and more.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 5: Free Day
An authentic samurai experience/workshop, Sumo show experience and special team dinner
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 6-9: Outreach and Ministry Days
Our team will be sharing through many local church/ministry and school/day-camp outreaches, a community sports and arts outreach, and much more!
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 10: Mount Fuji
A cruise on Lake Ashi while enjoying lunch at the foot of Mt. Fuji, and returning to Tokyo on the bullet train, consume and learn how to make legit ramen! Evening service and worship time.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 11-12: Village Trip
Helping farmers harvest seaweed, outreach of home to home, children's outreach.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 13: Tokyo
We will hold special children/youth outreaches to non-Christian neighborhood kids
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 14 Tokyo
Morning shopping at the markets. Last day with our contacts, friends, translators saying good-bye and a begin team de-briefing and special dinner. Overnight
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD
June 15: Depart for NYC
Travel Day
BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: La Guardia Hampton Inn, NYC
June 16: All team members travel home.
Training
Training for this trip will take place at the La Guardia Hampton Inn in NYC. (Lodging can be subject to change.)
Training consists of specific ministry and outreach information, going over rules and safety regulations, team bonding time, and an evening meeting with worship and small group prayer.
See Center for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for Peru; (click on CDC button).
Health & Safety FAQs
What vaccinations do I need? We would strongly suggest following the CDC requirements/suggestions. You should consult with your own family physician, but what we always suggest is to make sure that all your Hepatitis A, Tetanus/Diphtheria, and Typhoid/Polio shots are all up to date. It is a personal choice and decision as everyone has their own risk tolerance, vaccination beliefs, and health and safety thresholds.
Is the trip insured? Yes! We carry short-term travel insurance for each member of the team that includes medical evacuation, AD&D coverage, and other great travel insurance benefits. However, you will still need to be covered on a health insurance plan or have one purchased for the trip. We use Good Neighbor Insurance (GNI) for our mission trip coverage. For more information, call 480-813-9100 or visit info@gninsurance.com
What if an emergency happens and I can’t go? If you have to pull out of a mission trip for whatever reason, we will apply all payments/donations to a future trip, minus costs we may not be able to recover.
Health history questionnaire. A few weeks prior to the mission trip, we’ll email you a Health History Questionnaire and a Consent/Release form for you to fill out and email back to us before the mission trip. Most of it is pretty standard and it just gives us an idea of medications being taken, past health issues, allergies, immunizations received, and other items for us to be aware of if there were to be a need for you to go to a doctor or clinic/hospital. Please fill out what you are comfortable with; everything is 100% confidential.
Safety track record. Going overseas is a big deal, and it's totally understandable for individuals, parents, and families to be concerned and want to know what safety precautions are being taken for each trip, especially if they are new to Wide Awake Missions. We've been at this for over 30 years; we have taken thousands of teens and young adults overseas, and over the years of doing mission trips, we have been fortunate to have never had a major safety or medical issue.
International safety and travel warnings. We keep in constant contact with all travel warnings concerning each country we go to. Before we leave, we register our group with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) through the U.S. Department of State, and we log our itinerary with the State Departments of each country we travel to.
On being alone. No one is ever allowed to go off by themselves outside of our outreach sites, ministry sites, and hotels. We travel as a team unit, eat as a team, and minister as a team—so no one is ever alone. We rely on our trusted and experienced contacts/translators to guide us each day. Also, each team member pairs up daily with an accountability partner. We always have a first aid kit that travels with us, and our contacts keep us informed on the best doctors, clinics, and hospitals to visit if there are ever any issues or emergencies.
Contact information and itinerary. You, your parents, and/or family will have a list of all our emergency numbers and will receive a more updated itinerary before each trip.
Leaders. We have a seasoned country director run the mission trip, and our leader/student ratio is usually one college-aged leader (and some parent volunteers) per five (under age 18) students. We allow the team to bring their smartphones, and usually, it's their camera as well. We use the hotel’s wifi; this way students can be in contact with their parents for updates. We also provide you and your parents the phone numbers of the international hotels where we will be staying during the trip.
What about theft? Theft is always a possibility when you travel abroad, so please don’t bring anything you cannot afford to lose. Most crime is petty like pick-pocketing—but since we travel as a group and use private, chartered buses and vans with a hired driver who guards our belongings, we’ve rarely had a team member lose anything.
General Mission Trip FAQs
As we get within a few months of our mission trip, we will be in more communication to make sure everything goes smoothly, and we are always available to answer any questions you may have. We can’t even begin to express how unbelievable, fun, and adventurous this mission trip is going to be!
What about drinking water? Throughout the trip, we will drink plenty of bottled water and/or purified filtered water.
Can I bring items for the outreaches? Yes! Feel free to bring balloons, face paint, stickers, coloring book, crayons, pencils, and Bibles to give away. If your school or church wants to be a part in a financial way, we will be buying food to distribute in villages, supplying some Bibles, and handing out other little things, so you/they can give towards these options if you’d like; just let us know.
Are there any additional costs? Pretty much everything is covered! We work with a variety of helpers and translators, and we do take a group "love offering" at the end of the trip for our main contacts as well—it’s the gesture that counts here and not the amount though.
Do I need a sleeping bag or towel? No, you will not need a sleeping bag or towel for this trip.
Can I use my phone? Definitely! Although wifi can be spotty, it’s nice to keep in touch and share photos with friends and family who are praying for you and have supported you.
How many bags can I bring? You are allowed to bring one personal item like a back pack or day pack (usually a smaller type of school day backpack and not an actual carry on suitcase) and one checked piece of luggage (a suitcase or backpack/duffle bag weighing 48 pounds or less).
What’s a typical day like? Each morning, we enjoy breakfast and team devotions, and then we head off to our outreaches for the day. We typically bring lunch with us, and at the end of the day we’ll go out with our contacts/translators and enjoy team meals together at a local restaurant or at the hotel. Later in the evening, we bring everyone together and have some team fun, play some games, and some testimony time from the day of outreaches and ministry. We also love to have worship nights and an occasional inspiring message by one of the leaders or special speakers.
Do I have to share my testimony in front of people? Well, as a team, we’d love everyone to get to know each other’s "story.” As far as sharing in front of a group of people or church, we understand that speaking in front of larger groups can be frightening, so we’ll leave that up to you. You will see though that throughout the trip, you will begin to feel more and more comfortable with it. You will have numerous opportunities to pray for the needs of many people in the outreaches we will do.
Sports/skits? We will have some fun opportunities to play some pick-up games of soccer and basketball; and do some fun drama skits (and other games). It’s such a great way to connect and offers lots of opportunities to minister and get to know the people of Tokyo better. Please let us know if you have any special talents you’d love to use during the trip or teach others, such as face-painting, making balloon animals, playing musical instruments, dancing, singing, etc.
*This list isn’t exhaustive, if you have any additional questions please just let us know!
