LA x Yamagata: International Soccer Summer Camp in Japan
Ignite Your Students’ Potential with LA x Yamagata International Soccer Camp
Still looking for a summer enrichment activity for your teenager?
Why not combine sport, culture, and international experience with LA X Yamagata, our newest tour offering!
Give your teen the experience of a lifetime
LA x Yamagata is bringing players ages 14-18 from all over the world to train, play, and learn together, both on and off the field. Players will experience a carefully curated selection of activities, from practices with some of Japan’s best players and coaches on the largest indoor pitch in the country at J-Village to cultural immersion activities such as soba workshops, visits to mountain temples, and cherry picking in Yamagata.
The entire week-long program has been designed to foster multi-cultural competence, build confidence, and create lasting friendships. Each player will leave having gained international perspective and maturity.
Featured activites include:
- Montedio Game
- Hiking Yamadera
- Shogun Sword Fighting Demonstration
- Kendama Experience
- Yonezawa Ori Weaving Experience
- Lunch at Uesugi Hakushakutei
- Safflower Dyeing Experience
- Sakuranbo Cherry Picking
- Soba Workshop
- Training at J-Village with the Japanese Football Association
Tour at a glance
Inclusions:
- All lodging and accommodation fees
- Breakfast at hotel each day
- Lunch each day
- Dinner each day
- English-speaking interpreters and/or guides (depending on choice of experiences)
- Admission fees to all attractions visited during guided time
- Transportation to all attractions during the camp
- Round-trip train fare between Tokyo Haneda and the Camp
- Cultural Immersion Activities in Yonezawa
- Soba Workshop
- On-trip remote support via WhatsApp or other instant messaging service
- Sakuranbo Cherry Picking
- Luggage Transfer from Tokyo Haneda
- Montedio Game
- Training at J-Village
- Professional Photo and Video throughout the trip
Exclusions:
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses and gratuities
- Admission fees to attractions during self-guided time
- Food and drink in addition to the prix fixe meals included as part of the package
- Street food purchases during guided tours
- Anything not explicitly listed as included
We can also provide the following options for an additional fee:
- Flight booking
- Interpretation in languages other than English
Minimum number of participants
One, though more are welcome!
Cost
Yamagata Leg Only (June 25th- June 30th): ¥222,460 per player
Full Camp (June 25th-July 3rd): ¥286,066 per player
Tour Length
Yamagata Only: 6 Days, 5 Nights
Full Trip: 9 Days, 8 Nights
Tour availability
Spots are filling fast! Please register your interest below by June 1st, 2025.
Important notes
Day 1: Arrival in Japan
Day 1 Highlights
Arrival in Japan!
We recommend flying into Tokyo Haneda.
After landing, players and their companions will take a bus to Tokyo Station, where they will transfer to the Tsubasa Shinkansen. Large suitcases cannot be taken via the Shinkansen, and will be transferred to Yamagata by bus instead to their comfortable accommodations near the train station for the night.
Day 2: Official Welcome
Day 2 Highlights
Your first full day in Yamagata starts with an official welcome from the Deputy Mayor of the city at city hall. Lunch will be prepared from local ingredients at a nearby restaurant.
After lunch, head over to Yamagata Prefectural Grounds for your first practice of the camp! You will have some free time after practice to do some local sounvenir and snack shopping in historic Nanukamachi street.
The official Welcome Dinner will start at 6:00pm. Experience the perfection that is Yamagata wagyu beef firsthand. Yamagata wagyu is one of the top five in Japan; the deep flavors and soft and dreamy texture are perfect to refuel you after a hard day of soccer training.
Day 3: Yonezawa Sightseeing
Day 3 Highlights
Today is a sightseeing day! After breakfast we will head south to the vibrant city of Yonezawa to take part in some local cultural immersion activities.
Morning Activities can include:
- Experiencing Safflower dyeing (紅花染め) or Hand-weaving Yonezawa -ori (米沢織), two traditional local crafts, with the help of an interpreter who will pass on the history of Yamagata while you learn.
- Kendama experience (traditional Japanese ball and stick toy). Test your reflex and skills with kendama, a traditional Japanese toy which requires quick eyes and even quicker hands to master.
- Shogun Sword Fighting Demonstration (将軍隊のチャンバラ). Experience a thrill quite unlike anything you’ve seen before as the samurai reenactors of Shogun show off the very best of Edo period swordplay and costuming, all set to stirring traditional drums.
For lunch, we will transfer to Uesugi Hakushakutei (Uesugi Earl’s House). Originally built in the Meiji area, this 1920s reconstruction houses a local museum, guided tours, the chance to try on armor, and a regional cuisine kaiseki restaurant.
In the afternoon we will return to Yamagata City, where you will have your second practice session and your first soccer game!
Day 4: Yamagata Sightseeing and Montedio Game
Day 4 Highlights
Enjoy a second day of sightseeing in Yamagata prefecture! You have two options for your morning activity:
- Hike Yamadera Buddhist Temple. Located just a short train ride from downtown Yamagata city, this stunning Buddhist temple was built into the side of Mt. Hoju in the year 860. As you climb the thousand steps to the temple, let the crisp mountain air and holy forest cleanse your mind as it once did that of the poet Bassho. At the top, enjoy unmatched views of the area and learn about Buddhism as practiced in Japan.
- Sakuranbo cherry picking at Ohsyo Fruits Farm. Yamagata is famous throughout Japan for the particularly beautiful and delicious cherries grown here- why not test some directly from the vine?
In the evening,get ready for the Montedio Yamagata official match! Root for the home team in style. Arrive at the Montedio soccer stadium and have dinner an hour before the game starts.
Food tickets will be provided for you to purchase dinner at Yamagata Stadium’s restaurant “Blue Kitchen,” which serves up a mix of Western and Japanese favorites, from pizza and fries to tempura and ramen. Blue Kitchen has just the dish for you, served piping warm and on the spot so you don’t miss a minute of the action.
Day 5: Soba and Soccer
Day 5 Highlights
After breakfast at your hotel, we have a quintessentially Japanese cooking experience lined up!
A Soba workshop and lunch. Soba is a traditional Japanese noodle dish made from buckwheat flour, and can be served hot or cold. Learn how to make the noodles from scratch from a local, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor for lunch! Immensely filling and protein-packed, this is just the Japanese dish to get you ready for your next practice and second game in the evening.
Optional Day 6-9: J-Village Soccer Intensive
Day 6-9 Highlights
After breakfast, spend a fun-filled morning doing some local sightseeing before boarding the shuttle bus to J-Village in Fukushima Prefecture. This training facility offers the largest indoor practice field in Japan, a restuarant, gym, hotel, and a world-class set of professional coaches. Spend the next four days practicing, playing, and socializing with local JFA players in a closed environment.
Return to Tokyo Haneda on July 3 via the provided shuttle and catch your flight back home.
21 days or more before date of tour
20% of total price (non refundable booking deposit)
20 days to 8 days before date of tour
50% of total price
7 days to 2 days before date of tour
80% of total price
1 day before date of tour
100% of total price
Day of the tour
100% of total price
After start of tour or no-show
100% of total price