This Week @ PacSet: Anime Detour 2026! + Spring Special Recap
Who wants to hang out with us in Minnesota? You do!
PacSet Panel!
When: Friday, 3:30PM
Where: Greenway HI (Hyatt 2F)
Ah, spring! The birds fly north, the weather warms up (kinda?), and we make our annual pilgrimage to Anime Detour in the beautiful Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. This year, as always, we’ll be hosting a panel to talk about our upcoming adventures, look back at this year’s De-Tour to Hokkaido and Tohoku, and tease a few things about the future! Whoah. Details are in the blue cube right here:
OTHER PANELS TO SEE
PacSet’s own Evan Miller will be hosting a number of events at the convention, including Opening Ceremonies, Closing Ceremonies, The Great Debate, and Anime Improv!
We’re also part of two very awesome charity events during the weekend, raising money for NAMI Minnesota! The details:
OTP (One True Picture)
WHEN: Friday, 9:30PM
WHERE: Greenway CDE (Hyatt 2F)
WHAT: Four pro artists channel their skills to draw your silly requests for charity! Our guest artist lineup this year is STACKED, friends. Among the guests we’ll have are…
Chan Chau (Elements: Fire, Heartwood, Danger and Eggs)
Robin Sevakis (Anime News Nina!, Cat + Dog Fluxx)
Rae Huang (Clash of Clans (animation), Jelly, Ben, and Pogo)
Special Guest Akemi-K
Come donate to bring some crazy stuff to life, to laugh, and to have the best Friday night at a convention ever.
CHARITY AUCTION
WHEN: Sunday, 9:30AM
WHERE: Regency (Hyatt 2F)
WHAT: An auction of exclusive goods, treats, prizes, and more, all to benefit our charity, NAMI Minnesota. Also, everyone keeps insisting Evan auction off his morning coffee, which is weird, but hey, it’s also fun!
SPRING SPECIAL 2026 IS IN THE BOOKS!
We just wrapped our inaugural Spring Special trip! Here’s a peek at some of the fun we got into during our adventures…
The first half of the trip saw us dive into the best of Osaka and Kyoto, beginning with Osaka Castle (where we also befriended some very adorable cats), the gorgeous plum blossom garden there, and some scenic spots around the castle moats. From there, we ducked across town to Japan’s longest shopping arcade (1.65 miles!), Tenjinbashi-suji, to have dessert and do a little exploring. We wrapped the day with some sushi and sake at a local izakaya.
We pointed our compass towards Kyoto on Day 2 to climb through the shrine gate tunnels of Fushimi Inari Shrine before riding the scenic Sagano Torokko Railway into Arashiyama for a visit to Tenryuji’s zen gardens and cute local cafes.
Returning to Kyoto on Day 3, half of us got dressed up as we all visited the iconic Kiyomizu Temple and its scenic stage. The afternoon had us exploring the Philosopher’s Path, Sanmon Gate, and Ginkakuji while also engineering a little surprise: a proposal. ;)
Finally, Day 4 brought us back to Osaka for a day of exploring the city’s vibrant urban core, from Japan’s best coffee at Lilo Coffee to a special izakaya dinner at Sora near Den Den Town/Otaku Road. Games were played, Sake was sampled, Pokemon Centers shopped and some of us even ventured out to try a variety of Japanese whiskies to cap off the night.
More stories and memories from the journey next week!
SURVEY: An Update
ICYMI: Due to continued uncertainty and craziness in the Japan travel market, we’re taking a survey to see what new Japan travelers, our alumni, and everyone in between is looking for in Japan travel. Whee!
Click the button above or below to take the survey, and if you can, share it with your friends! The entire survey is just 10 questions (so it’ll only take a minute or two) and is completely confidential.
PLUS: After the survey is done, you’ll get a link to a secret locked site where you can submit your info for the chance to win a few prize packs we’ll be sending out to people who take the survey, as a thank you for helping us out.
Ready to answer a few questions? Hit the link below – and again, thank you!
