In 2014, Troop 999 had the privilege of hosting the Scouts of Troop 2 from Yotsukaido, Japan.  This exchange happened as a result of our long-standing friendship that has been build over 3 decades and multiple Scoutmasters.  On August 15, 2014 the Independent wrote an article about the visit.  The contents of the article is posted below, and was originally published at: http://www.independentnews.com/community/milestones/livermore-troop-hosts-sister-city-scouts/article_ff0bbf78-23cc-11e4-96fd-0019bb2963f4.html

Livermore's Boy Scout Troop 999 recently hosted a dozen Boy Scouts and Scout Leaders from Troop 2 of Livermore's Sister City of Yotsukaido, Japan. The visiting group included one lady Scout leader, and one young lady member of Troop 2, Yotsukaido, as well as two men, and 8 boys.

The visitors arrived on Friday, August 1. They were hosted by scout families for 8 days, during which the visitors and hosts attended an Oakland A's baseball game, toured San Francisco including a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, and, of course, Fisherman's wharf, and enjoyed a day at Concord's Water World.

The combined group then went back packing for three days in the Sierra Nevada near Kirkwood, catching fish, swimming, dodging rain showers and enjoying the outdoors.

The visit concluded with a morning of target practice at the Livermore-Pleasanton Rod and Gun Club's rifle range and a farewell dinner and swim at the home of a long time Scout family in Livermore.

Scouting exchanges between Boy Scouts of Livermore and Yotsukaido have been taking place from time to time since 1986, sometimes including treks through Desolation Wilderness to Lake Tahoe, and other times treks through Yosemite's wilderness to Yosemite Valley.

The Livermore Scouts are hoping to travel to Japan for a reciprocal visit within a few years. Past visits to Japan have included climbs up Japan's famous Mount Fuji and visits to other sights in the Tokyo region.