About PacSet
Our story
PacSet was founded a few months after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Following the disaster, a lot of money flowed towards attracting “traditional” travelers back to Japan: older, richer clientele. We felt that was a missed opportunity, especially since in the wake of the 2011 disaster, the demographic most willing to go back to Japan as soon as possible were Anime fans. Moreover, one of our staff called the Tohoku region for two years, so we were determined to do whatever we could to help the region. For all these reasons, we pooled our resources and sacrificed an unhealthy amount of sleep to start our own company, finally opening our doors in December 2011. Our first trip to Japan was, fittingly, Animated Spring 2012.
From the beginning, our trips focused on keeping one aspect of fan culture at the heart of our journeys: traveling among friends. Group dinners, parties, and other events based on bringing people together has always been a core part of what we do. Although our early promotions were targeted at Anime fans, we quickly confirmed something we knew: Anime fans want to do more than just shop. Their support enabled us to launch some of the most ambitious itineraries on the market early in our existence, including the animal-themed Pawprint Pathways, the only trip to Ogasawara operated by a western company (Lost Islands), and numerous trips dedicated to unique food and festival culture in every corner of Japan – including many in Tohoku.
Subsequent years saw PacSet expand beyond its pop culture roots to offer more ambitious journeys for every traveler, including deep dives into the best parts of Kyushu, Shikoku, Tohoku, and other regions outside the Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka (aka Kanto/Kansai) area. Our guests have been part of rural and urban festivals, played Uno on the top of a mountain, snorkeled around Okinawa, thrown fire in Akita, created their own traditions, relaxed in more hot springs/onsens than we could ever hope to count, and much, much more.
Today, our customers come from every single background and interest imaginable, spanning generations of travelers. In that same spirit, we are proud to offer the most unique roster of Japan trips on the market, with journeys that go way beyond the typical “Tokyo and Kyoto” journey to offerings that explore Japan’s rural islands, small seaside towns, underrated urban centers, and everything in between. However, our motto remains unchanged: we still believe that the best journeys are those that revolve around travel among friends – a spirit of connecting with locals and one another as we explore the best of what Japan has to offer.
What our customers are saying
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"From beginning to end, this tour was something special. Everything I had ever dreamed of experiencing in Japan was both experienced and enjoyed. The tour guides were helpful and knowledgeable, and knew all the best places to see/buy/eat all the good stuff! This trip was a memory I’ll never forget. I would go again in a heartbeat. PacSet is the best!"
— Ariana, Animated Spring 2014
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"Traveling solo is no longer the only option to experience Japan in an unconventional way. PacSet delivers an experience with carefully crafted trips for every need."
— Alondra, Skate or Swim 2018
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"Our guide, Val, really made the experience special. She was patient, understanding, and very kind. I couldn't have asked for a better experience!"
— Sofia, Sun and Sakura 2018
Staff Bios
EVAN MILLER
As the CEO and co-founder of PacSet, Evan has led more trips to Japan than he’s prepared to admit, but that’s cool – he loves his work. He first got into travel when he led tours of diplomats around rural Akita Prefecture as a Coordinator for International Relations on the JET Programme. While earning his MA in Japanese Literature at UW-Madison, Evan also worked at Anime News Network, where he got to interview lots of cool people, author a weekly art column called The Gallery, and hone his sarcasm. If he isn’t on a plane, you can find Evan cycling around LA, baking cookies, using bad puns, practicing improv comedy, or at a convention running panels and helping friends in Artist Alley. He will probably be running trips to Japan until someone forces him to stop. :)
PART TIME STAFF
GREG BECK: Trip guide, sake genius
VALERIE BECK: Admin work, Trip guide, Trip design
ANITA TAI: Trip guide
KIPPU (mascot)
Kippu – or Kip for short – is the official PacSet mascot character. As an adorable fox, his hobbies include eating tasty food, listening to music, traveling, and flying around on his trusty jetpack. We’re not sure where Kip got the jetpack (we certainly don’t have the budget for such things), but he seems pretty happy when he’s flying around with it, so who are we to judge?
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Pacset CEO
Evan Miller
Our guides
Stefanie Benham
Kyle Cardine
Heidi Christian
Miho Fukuoka
Gigi Guiting
Anita Tai
Rebecca Wu -
ART ELEMENTS/GRAPHICS
Juliana Chen
Yvonne Ho
Kagezi
Lanny Liu
Vivian Liu
Evan Miller
Emily WingTECH/LOGISTICS HELP
Jess Kuras
Chris Sappington -
EMERITUS STAFF
Megumi Kawase
Christine Kitajima
Lanny LiuFounded by
Evan Miller
Lanny LiuNo thanks to
Ice Bar
Suzumebachi Shochu (“The Bees”) -
SPECIAL THANKS
Anime News Network
Anime Twin Cities
Junko Kitagawa
Kintetsu International
Chris MacDonald
Nicole + Damien Rossi
Nippon Travel Agency
Rich Tracy
All of our alumni and supporters - you are the reason we work so hard!
PacSet: The Timeline
2011: PacSet launches in December, mere months after the Earthquake and Tsunami, to encourage travel to Japan among non-traditional travelers and anime fans.
2012: We operate five trips in its opening year, including the first Animated Spring, Japan Holiday, and Anime Detour. Highlights include filling an onsen bath with awesome Minnesotans and enlisting the help of locals to find the best yukata in Ito.
2013: Seven trips happened in the second full year, and while the standard adventures were as popular as ever, trips to Ogasawara (Lost Islands) and the massive BL Teahouse Trip quickly establish PacSet's unconventional approach. Highlights: impromptu RuPaul renditions in the streets of Kobe, marathon games of Uno on a ferry with a bunch of school kids, and an in-depth discussion on what the Haagen Dazs "Crispy Sandwich" actually includes.
2014: NINE trips across half of Japan showcases our biggest (and busiest) year yet. Highlights: rescuing a stray cat in Tohoku, buying half of the plum wine in Tomonoura, and a really amazing party in Matsumoto after a visit to the crow castle.
2015: Our fourth full year (“second generation”) brought us some of our most envelope-pushing trips yet, as we embarked upon eight adventures that whisked us to almost every corner of Japan. Along the way, we performed an impromptu reading of the Starfighter webcomic, sang the Canadian National Anthem in the streets of Akihabara, and confirmed that Miso Ice Cream is very, very tasty.
2016: Year five had us running some of the biggest and best versions of our most popular trips! Our guest Mark became a sled for the youth of Hokkaido, had our first FanFest Waterslide race, partied with the locals at the Oeshiki Festival, and had our fanciest social night ever on a balcony overlooking Kobe Harborland.
2017: PacSet's busiest year ever sees the business lead its first ever school trip and its largest Animated Spring group ever.
2018: PacSet reaches its 50 trip milestone as we move into our “third generation” of trips, including the development of our blind box mystery trip “Omakase” and the launch of a new website.
2019: Our footprint reaches into Shikoku and Kyushu more than ever as we improve our operations and refresh our printed content.
2020: COVID-19. ;_; We did go to Hokkaido in February though, so that was cool! <3
2022: PacSet becomes one of the first agencies to restart operations, with our full schedule coming back in September 2022. The end of the year saw us operate four trips in quick succession, finally welcoming in guests who had been waiting as long as three years to make the journey across the Pacific.
2023: The post-pandemic backlog continues as we finally welcome all the guests who were delayed due to the pandemic. After five years in planning, “Omakase” finally takes off and quickly becomes one of our most popular offerings. Restructuring leads to the start of our “fourth generation” of trips in the fall.
2024: We operate eight trips in 2024, including one of our biggest yet in a partnership with our friends Lords of the Trident and Seven Spires.
2025: We offer our first ever Sake trip with our friends at Sake Secret, plus a busy fall season in which our guides criss-crossed half of Japan with three groups in the span of seven weeks.
2026: A new website launches and a new chapter begins. Want to be part of it? Join us!