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Global Leadership Summit

Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka & Leadership Conference: Culinary Innovation at Work

11 days in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka

Street food vendor in osaka, japan
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OVERVIEW

Go behind the scenes of Japan’s food industry and discover how emerging technology is reshaping the way people work

Japan’s food industry reveals how emerging technology is changing the way people work. From Kikkoman’s globally scaled soy sauce production to a Kyoto matcha plant shaped by centuries of innovation, students will see firsthand how tradition and technology coexist, and how work itself is being reimagined. Along their journey, students will join the EF Global Leadership Summit in Kyoto to collaborate across cultures, hear from changemakers, and discover their role in a world being transformed by emerging technology.

What makes this tour special?

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Explore Asakusa Kannon Temple, one of Tokyo's oldest and most significant Buddhist temples

Explore Asakusa Kannon Temple, one of Tokyo's oldest and most significant Buddhist temples

Join EF’s three-day leadership conference to explore where emerging technology is taking us—and how you can help lead the way

Join EF’s three-day leadership conference to explore where emerging technology is taking us—and how you can help lead the way

Visit a matcha production facility to discover how centuries of innovation have shaped one of Japan’s most beloved traditions

Visit a matcha production facility to discover how centuries of innovation have shaped one of Japan’s most beloved traditions

Route map for tokyo kyoto osaka global leadership summit tour

What you’ll do

Explore a sample itinerary

Day 1: Fly to Japan

EF Summits are open to rising 9th graders through graduated seniors.

Board your international flight to Tokyo

Day 2: Tokyo

Meet your Tour Director at the destination airport

Day 3: Tokyo

Tour Tokyo with an expert local guide

Explore the Asakusa Kannon Temple

Take a walking tour of Shibuya

Take a tour of Akihabara Electric Town, a hub for tech trends and fans of gaming, manga, and anime

Visit the Kikkoman soy sauce factory to learn how traditional brewing techniques are used alongside emerging technology to meet global demand

Day 4: Tokyo • Kyoto

Tour the Kiyoken Factory to see how technology has transformed the production of shumai

Visit the Kiyoken Main Store

Travel by bullet train to Kyoto

Day 5: Kyoto • Leadership Conference

Visit the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

Kick off the leadership conference in the afternoon. Step outside your comfort zone as you discover your leadership style and get to know the team you will work with over the next few days.

Day 6: Kyoto • Leadership Conference

Dive into workshops and discussions led by experts on the Summit’s theme of Emerging Technology. Work together with your team using the design-thinking process to create innovative solutions to the Summit challenge, all while strengthening your critical thinking and collaboration skills.

Day 7: Kyoto • Leadership Conference

Hear from more thought leaders, sharpen your public speaking skills, and finalize your project. Come together with teams from across the conference to present your project, vote for your favorite idea, and celebrate the solution that earns a place in the Nobel Prize Museum.

Day 8: Tokyo • Kyoto

Take a tour of the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Meet the team behind a locally owned restaurant and see how technology shapes their daily work

Day 9: Kyoto • Osaka

Take a walking tour of Kyoto

Visit the Golden Pavilion, a Zen Buddhist temple

Visit Nijō Castle, where the Tokugawa shogunate kept a second home

Visit a matcha production facility and discover how centuries of innovation have shaped one of Japan’s most beloved traditions

Travel to Osaka

Day 10: Osaka

Osaka is known as Japan's food capital and home to some of the country's most celebrated street food.

Visit the Cup Noodles Museum and discover how instant noodles became a global phenomenon

Take an in-depth tour of Osaka's Dotonbori canal street

Day 11: Depart for home

Board your flight home from Osaka

All of our tours are powered by our proven EF Method

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2028 EF global leadership summit theme

A closer look at Emerging Technology

Technology has always been at the heart of human progress, shaping how we learn, work, and connect across cultures. And right now, emerging technology—from robotics and artificial intelligence to digital communication and beyond—is transforming our lives faster than we ever imagined. The question isn’t whether change is coming; it’s how we can fully embrace it. Journey through Asia and join us in Kyoto, Japan for EF's 2028 Global Leadership Summit on Emerging Technology. Students will discover how we can use it to reimagine education, redefine careers, and reshape the way humans connect in the world we all share. Sound big? It is. We decide where technology takes us. Let’s choose somewhere worth going, together.

See all the 2028 EF Summit tours

What's included

Everything that’s included on a Summit tour

Your students’ price covers it all—round-trip flights, transportation, guided tours, and every detail you haven’t even thought of yet. All your students have to do? Show up ready to try new things, explore new places, discover new interests, and make new friends.

  • The EF tour experience

    We’ll book it all for you—transportation, an expert Tour Director and local guides, hotels, select meals, guided tours, and more.

  • The Summit experience—plus college credit

    Everything during the three-day leadership conference is covered, like workshops, keynote sessions, meals, and more. Also, students can earn 3 college credits as part of their experience at no extra cost.

  • Industry-leading safety measures

    EF staff are on the ground in 114 countries, ready to support you 24/7. With 60+ years of experience, we’re prepared for anything.

  • A whole wide world of support

    We’ll help you plan every detail, get your students and families excited, and make sure you feel confident and ready to go.

Unlock your lowest price

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Payment plan options

Pay over time interest-free or pay all at once

Fundraising

Every traveler receives a no-fee donation page

Global Citizen Scholarship

Every year EF awards $100,000 to student travelers

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Frequently asked questions

Let’s unpack that

We’ll connect you with your personal Tour Consultant—someone who works with other teachers in your area and specializes in planning EF tours . They’ll walk you through our 2028 Global Leadership Summit itineraries, explain student pricing, and show you just how easy it is to partner with EF.

Once you decide to lead an EF Summit tour, your Tour Consultant will help you get school administrators on board, students excited, and families ready to enroll. You’ll host an informational meeting to kick off the enrollment period, and we’ll provide everything you need—from a digital presentation to printed handouts, parent resources, and more.

You’ll have a dedicated Tour Director who will guide your group from the moment you land in your first destination until your final goodbye. They:

  • Take all the same transportation and stay in the same hotels as your group, including during the leadership conference

  • Speak the local language (but lead the tour in English!)

  • Support you 24/7 as your right hand

  • Offer deep cultural context to help students feel connected to their destination

  • Handle all the logistics, so you don’t have to

  • Are the secret ingredient that makes your tour truly shine

Yes! You earn a free spot on tour as soon as six paying travelers enroll. For every additional six paying travelers, you earn another free spot for an adult chaperone of your choosing. For example, if 30 students sign up, that’s four free chaperone spots in addition to yours.

All travelers on international EF tours must have a valid passport. When it comes to documentation, every traveler and destination is different, so once your group starts enrolling, we’ll help direct you and your families to relevant resources.

Passports should have at least three blank pages and be valid for at least six months after your return date.

Yes! As an accredited institution, EF offers academic courses for both students and educators traveling on a Summit. These courses follow our educational philosophy, the EF GPA, and are designed to deepen travelers’ learning experience before, during, and after tour.

Once a teacher has started planning and students have signed up for a Summit tour, they can enroll in one of our courses. The deadline for registering and beginning coursework is 60 days before your Summit tour departs, as there are required pre-travel assignments in addition to ones that learners complete during and after tour.

As part of the 2028 Global Leadership Summit experience, students can earn 3 college credits at no extra cost! They’ll still need to enroll in the course 60 days before departure, but EF will waive their registration fee.

The leadership conference takes place in Kyoto, Japan from July 9–11, 2028. You’ll travel on your educational tour between a specific range of dates (depending on your itinerary), and participate in the leadership conference either at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle of your tour experience.

Every EF Global Leadership Summit offers a dedicated Professional Learning track for adult learners. Adults attend exclusive workshops, hear from global changemakers in small-group settings, and network with other educators from around the world. The programming is designed to challenge and inspire, with a variety of hands-on sessions and activities to choose from—all focused on the leadership conference theme and the future of education.

We’re here to help! Start a live one-on-one chat with a team member.

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