In 1908, aged 29 and brimming with bright ambition, Tokushichi II decided to broaden his horizons. Like many young Japanese businessmen of his generation, he was eager to see the world. Undaunted by his inability to speak any foreign language, Tokushichi participated in a five-month overseas study tour sponsored by a major Japanese newspaper. He must have felt great confidence in the ability of his staff to manage without him to take such a long leave.

During the trip, Tokushichi visited the United States and made the grand tour of Europe. It was what he saw in the United States that had the most profound effect on him. Many years later, he confessed to a reporter that he had never been so surprised in his life as when he visited New York.