This week @ PacSet: Anime De-Tour 7!
WE’RE BACK FROM THE NORTH!
It’s been a busy couple of weeks with us: we’re in Japan operating our first adventure of the year! As we do every two years, we’ve been running our bi-yearly trip with Anime Detour, the Anime De-Tour (get it?).
We kicked things off in Yokohama, where the unseasonably cold weather led us on an impromptu quest to build the first PacSet snowman EVER. Oh, and we also made cup noodles and had a party in the city before we got ready for the trip to Hokkaido the following day.
Then it was off to Sapporo, where we hit the Snow Festival, ate a ton of good food (grilled lamb, seafood, ice cream, potatoes…), and also sampled some of our favorite cocktails after hours. Oh, and there was a snow Gundam. A Gundow? A Snundam? Let me get back to you on that one, ok?
While we spent a lot of time in Hakodate seeing the sites visitors love (the Star-shaped Goryokaku Fortress, the night view from Mt. Hakodate, etc.), we also had a lot of amazing food during our after-hours escapades to places like the Daimon Yokocho yatai area, a venison-themed Izakaya, and a few other local haunts. Besides, if you come to Hakodate and don’t have amazing food, you’re doing it wrong. Also, shout out to the people who suggested the best way around a stairway covered in ice is just to sit down and slide over it. Any idea that keeps us from breaking a bone while also giving us the chance to say, “WHEE!” and mean it is a great idea indeed.
After crossing into Tohoku, we decided to challenge our stomachs to a fight at a Wanko Soba restaurant, where we consumed a fair portion of tasty noodles that ensured that we would never need to eat again (well, for at least a few hours). By the way - if that sounds fun, there’s a trip we discuss at the end of this update you should really check out.
Anyway: we then got to visit a few local spots we love, including Kakunodate and the fire-flinging Hiburi Kamakura Festival (where the locals gave us a LOT of free sake and food) and the underwater lakes and bat caves of Ryusendo!
The adventure wrapped up with two nights at Ashinomaki Onsen, located just south of Aizu-Wakamatsu in western Fukushima Prefecture. Besides the amazing castle vistas and the chance to relax in our own private onsen baths overlooking a river (yeah, really!), we also got to take a detour into Kitakata City for their famous ramen and some of the local sake. Many, many thanks to the responsible Cat Conductors for getting us there safely. =^.^=
All in all, the seventh edition of the De-Tour was a rousing success, and we can’t wait to do this whole thing again in a few years! Shout out to the guests, hotels, and staffs of all these spots for making this whole thing happen. <3
LAST CHANCE FOR TASTE OF JAPAN NORTH!
That’s right friends, it is the FINAL week to sign up for this spring’s Taste of Japan North adventure. You deserve lots of amazing food and amazing onsens, and by golly, we wanna give it to you! Let the spirit compel you to hit the button below and then prepare your stomach for the kind of journey most people only dream of!
NEXT WEEK
More price updates and other fun stuff. Stick around!
