In-person Pilgrimage

Images from Amache Pilgrimage

50th Annual Amache Pilgrimage will be May 16-18, 2025

Pilgrimages to former WWII concentration camps for those of Japanese descent were started in the late 1960s. It took nearly a quarter century for former prisoners and their descendants to question why they had been imprisoned and begin searching for answers. The first formal pilgrimage to Amache was one of the official events commemorating the state of Colorado’s centennial from 1975-76. After pilgrims arrived at Amache, they cleaned the cemetery site. Learn more on the Pilgrimage History page. Since then, the annual Pilgrimage has taken place on the weekend before Memorial Day weekend for the past 50 years. While it was originally limited to only Saturday, in recent years it has grown to a longer event.

This year, the Full Amache Pilgrimage will take place in the Amache area from the evening of Friday May 16 to midday Sunday May 18, with additional events hosted by Amache Alliance, the University of Denver Amache Project, National Parks Conservation Association, Colorado Preservation Inc., and the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation. There will also be events earlier in the week in Denver at the Denver Art Museum and History Colorado Center. PLEASE NOTE: you will need your own transportation to attend these events.

The Saturday One-day Bus from Denver will also run as usual on Saturday May 17. Nikkeijin Kai of Colorado and Amache Preservation Society will coordinate the core Pilgrimage memorial services at the cemetery and potluck lunch much as they have been held for 50 years for pilgrims coming on the bus from Denver. PLEASE NOTE: those taking the bus will only have time to participate in the core events on Saturday.

View the draft Pilgrimage one-page flyer, or full program, or scroll down to see the full schedules. You can jump to the sections for the Full Amache Pilgrimage or Saturday One-day Bus from Denver below. Registration for the full Pilgrimage is still free but having numbers will help us plan. Pilgrims will need to cover costs of transportation and meals outside of the Pilgrimage potluck. We have also included some news stories from recent Pilgrimages at the bottom of the page.

Full Amache Pilgrimage – Personal Transportation Required


If you have your own transportation or are flying in and renting a car, be sure to register for the additional informal activities. Registration is still free but having numbers will help us plan and some events have limited space. Also, please note that it is approximately a 3 1/2 hour drive from Denver airport to Amache.

Full Amache Pilgrimage Schedule of Events
On View in the Denver Area
Now through June 1. The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO.
April 21-July 19. 30th Anniversary Colorado Japanese American Women’s Quilt Project, Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Golden, CO.
May 13-15, Denver
Ireichō – Sacred Book of Names available for stamping at the History Colorado Center, Denver. Appointment required, limited spots are available. To request an appointment, fill out this form. There is also an exhibit on Amache at the History Colorado Center.
Friday May 16, Amache NHS
9:00 AM Volunteers meet at the Granada Community Center for assignments.
103 S. Main Street, Granada, CO. 81041.
9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Ireichō – Sacred Book of Names available for stamping at the Amache Museum. Appointment required, limited spots are available. To request an appointment, fill out this form.
2:00 PM Amache Garden Tours, Amache Community Research Project. Meet at Amache Site Entrance.
4:15 PM Amache NPS Tours. Meet at Amache Site Entrance.
6:30 PM Evening program at Granada High School Auditorium,
201 S Hoisington St., Granada, CO.
8:00 PM Social with Celebration cake, Granada High School gym.
Saturday May 17, Amache NHS
9:00 AM Guided Amache Site Tours or Tours of Blocks 6E, 6H, 7G, 8E, 8K, 9K, 11E, 11H, or 12F. Meet at Amache Site Entrance. Space is limited, registration required.
10:00 AM Shuttle from Granada High School to Amache Cemetery for those not participating in tours. There is plenty of paved parking at the High School.
11:00 AM Core event: Pilgrimage Memorial Ceremony at the Amache Cemetery. Ireichō – Sacred Book of Names will be on view. Shuttle will return to Granada High School after the ceremony.
12:30 PM Core event: Pilgrimage Potluck Lunch at Granada High School. Please allow Denver bus participants to get their food first.
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM Ireichō – Sacred Book of Names available for stamping at the Amache Museum. Appointment required, limited spots are available. To request an appointment, fill out this form.
2:00 PM Guided Amache Site Tours or Tours of Blocks 6F, 7E, 7H, 8F, 9E, 9L, 10H, 11F, 11K, or 12G. Meet at Amache Site Entrance. Space is limited, registration required.
3:00 PM Guided Amache Site Tours or Tours of Blocks 6G, 7F, 7K, 8G, 9H, 10E, 11G, 12E, 12H, or 12K. Meet at Amache Site Entrance. Space is limited, registration required.
3:30 PM Small group activities at Granada High School.
5:00 PM 1st Seating, Dinner by Shorty’s Cafe at the historic Newman’s Drugs building, 24 N. Main St., Granada, CO 81041. Cash only, limited to 80 people, registration required.
6:30 PM 2nd Seating, Dinner by Shorty’s Cafe at the historic Newman’s Drugs building, 24 N. Main St., Granada, CO 81041. Cash only, limited to 80 people, registration required.
8:00 PM Social at the Granada Community Center, 103 S. Main St., Granada, CO 81041.
Sunday May 18, Sand Creek Massacre NHS
9:00 AM Meet at Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site for a remembrance program and guided tour. Note: The site is approximately 1 hour northwest of Amache or northeast of Lamar. There are no food/beverage concessions available, the Denver Airport is a little over 3 hours away.

For those arriving by Friday, there will be appointments available to stamp the Ireichō – Sacred Book of Names. Guided Tours of the site or garden areas will also be offered. In the evening, there will be presentations at the Granada High School Auditorium. The Amache Museum will be open Fri and Sat until 5 pm, except during the ceremony at the cemetery and luncheon on Saturday. On Saturday before the Pilgrimage ceremony at the Amache site, there will be free time to visit the site or Amache Museum on your own or sign up for a tour of the site or of specific blocks. You can search for your family’s barrack and block information on the Interactive Directory Map. After lunch, there will be additional time to visit the Amache Museum, as well as opportunities for additional tours or small group discussions. In the evening, there will be a casual Mexican buffet dinner by Shorty’s Cafe at the historic Newman’s Drugs building in Granada, cost: $20 (TBD) + tip. Join other Amache survivors and community members for a time of sharing food and stories. Newmans Drug Store was where Amache families went to shop, have ice cream or a soda. Next door was the Granada Fish Market started by Frank Tsuchiya. Using his Los Angeles connections, he brought in sashimi grade fish to Granada and sold Japanese food hard to come by in camp such as soy sauce and noodles. Wrap-up the evening with a social at the Granada Community Center.

Hotels are available in Lamar, Colorado, 17 miles to the west on Highway 50. A block of rooms is available at the Holiday Inn in Lamar, CO at a reduced rate for those coming for the Pilgrimage. Book by May 1. Call (719) 931-4010 for reservations and mention “Amache Pilgrimage” or “Room Block under Colorado Preservation, Inc. and the Amache Pilgrimage.” Other area hotels include a Days Inn, Quality Inn, and Cobblestone Hotel & Suites. There are grocery stores where you can pick up items for the pot luck or if you wish to bring your own meals, snacks, and drinks to Granada, where shopping is limited.

In addition to Denver, Colorado Springs is an optional airport that can save close to 100 miles driving distance vs. arriving in Denver. Pilgrims can drive from Colorado Springs south on Interstate 25 to Pueblo, Colorado, then due east on Highway 50 to Amache, planning to arrive at the cemetery by 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

***FOR THOSE DRIVING PLEASE NOTE: ALTERNATE ROUTE DUE TO PARADE***
The Lamar Days Parade will begin at 10:00 am on Saturday and is usually along the route to Granada from Lamar. To avoid the parade, you can take a back road to Granada that used to be Highway 196 but is now a county road. You will need to turn at the Big Timbers Museum on the big curve that heads to Lamar. That road will take you to a point between Bristol and Granada, Colorado. You will take that road for 17 miles, and then at the stop sign you will turn right to go into Granada. Once in downtown Granada you need to turn right and head back West to the Amache turn off. This road used to be marked but now that it is a county road, it is not marked as well. If you end up in Lamar, you will be waiting for some time. The parade route will start on Highway 50 and move slowly West towards Lamar.

Planning to stay in the area overnight would give you more time during the day to visit the site, go on the self-guided driving tour, and visit the Amache Museum. Internet and phone service at the site can be spotty, so you may want to download the audio files for the self-guided driving tour in advance. If you plan on spending time at the site, please come prepared with sturdy shoes, water, sunscreen, and a hat. It will be very hot and dry and there are limited amenities. The terrain is rough and uneven with low bushes, rocks, and cactus. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the information on the page Know Before You Go.

You may also visit other area attractions, including the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, located 35 miles northwest of Amache, where visitors can learn about the woman for whom the Amache Relocation Center was named and her Cheyenne sub-Chief father, Ochinee, who was killed at Sand Creek in 1864. On Sunday morning, there will be a remembrance and guided tour, meet at the contact station at 9 am (NOT the Visitor and Education Center in downtown Eads). The Sand Creek Massacre is one of the most emotionally charged and controversial events in American history, a tragedy reflective of its time and place. It stands as a testament to a brutality that should be learned from and never repeated, a lesson of what the rejection of conscience in the face of fear and hysteria can lead to, and the suffering that this betrayal has imparted on generations of Arapaho and Cheyenne people. The Amache community has the opportunity to share and learn from the Sand Creek Massacre community. We humbly and very respectfully honor their history and life on their lands in Southeastern Colorado.

Directions to Sand Creek Massacre NHS entrance from Lamar:

  • Head north US 287 N / Main St
  • Bear right onto State Highway 196 (US 287 N will curve to the left with a small exit road onto State Highway 196). Drive 3 miles
  • Keep going straight onto County Rd 8. Drive 7.5 miles
  • Road name changes to County Road 49. Drive 11.5 miles
  • Turn right onto County Road N. Drive 2.5 miles
  • Turn right onto state Highway 96. Drive 2.5 miles
  • Turn left onto County Road 54 / Chief White Antelope Way (dirt road). Drive 7 miles
  • Turn right onto County Road W (dirt road). Drive 1 mile
  • Entrance to Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is on the left.

Saturday One-day Bus from Denver for Core Pilgrimage Activities Only

Bus tickets must paid in advance, purchase your ticket now! If you are planning a one-day visit from Denver, bus tickets are now for sale. Thanks to generous support from Nikkeijin Kai, bus tickets are just $35 per person. You may purchase your ticket through Nikkeijin Kai of Colorado using the QR code or this link. If would like to pay via cash or check, please contact Hiro Hansen, 720-366-9798, [email protected].

Saturday One-day Bus from Denver Schedule of Events
Saturday May 17
6:00 AM Bus pickup at Simpson United Methodist Church.
6:30 AM Bus pickup at Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temple.
8:00 AM Break – Limon Refreshment Stop.
11:00 AM Core event: Pilgrimage Memorial Ceremony at the Amache Cemetery.
12:30 PM Core event: Pilgrimage Potluck Lunch at Granada High School.
2:00 PM Amache Museum (if time).
2:30 PM Bus leaves for Denver.
6:30 PM Denver Arrival.

Two bus pick-up points are available. The first pick-up will board at 6:00AM at Simpson United Methodist Church, 6001 Wolff Street, Arvada 80003; the second pick-up will be 6:30AM at downtown Denver’s Tri-State Buddhist Temple, 1947 Lawrence Street, Denver 80202. Attendees are encouraged to board at Simpson where parking is more plentiful. Snacks are provided and continuous educational programs run on overhead bus screens on the restroom equipped vehicle. There is time to share conversation with other passengers, some of whom were forcibly removed to Amache or to one of the nine other major US concentration camps. After a short rest stop in Limon, the bus will arrive at the Amache cemetery at approximately 11:00AM for a brief memorial service and oshoko (offering of incense) to commemorate those who died while imprisoned there or while serving in the US military. Attendees will then meet at Granada Undivided School, where lunch and a short program will be provided, and the bus will re-board by 2:30 for the return trip to Denver; passengers will be dropped off in reverse order of the morning, and can expect to arrive back at Simpson by 6:30-7:00PM.

News Coverage from Recent Pilgrimages

2024 Pilgrimage weekend
2023 Pilgrimage weekend
Colorado Sun: Descendants of two government-sanctioned atrocities gather in Colorado, bond over “shared identity”

The 2023 Pilgrimage included an exchange with Sand Creek Massacre descendants. Read more in an article in the Colorado Sun.

2022 Pilgrimage
9News: Survivors, descendants and families make pilgrimage to Amache

9News.com attended the Pilgrimage and produced a 30 minute special “Injustice Forever: the Story of Amache”, which aired on Sunday June 26, 2022. It tells the story of Amache and what will likely to happen to the site once the National Park Service is running it. View the 2:50 minute overview video on 9News.com, or watch the full special.

9News: Pilgrimage to Amache Returns

9News.com also interviewed Derek Okubo, Director of the Denver Agency for Human Rights and Amache descendant. View the 5 minute video on 9News.com.

Colorado Public Radio: The Camp Amache rose is blooming. Here’s what it looks like

A rose bush planted by Amache incarcerees was witnessed blooming for the first time in almost 80 years at the Pilgrimage. Learn more about the discovery of the Amache rose, propagation of cuttings at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and view footage of the bloom on CPR news.

The Prowers Journal: Historic Amache Pilgrimage

Read a brief overview of the main Pilgrimage events by The Prowers Journal.

KRDO: Remembering Amache, the story of Colorado’s WWII Japanese internment camp

KRDO produced a short video and StoryMap of the Pilgrimage, featuring an interviews with Amache survivor Bob Fuchigami and APS lead John Hopper.