Sake Secret & PacSet Launch Fall Japan Trip for Sake Lovers!

Sake Secret and Pacset team up again for their second sake adventure of 2025!

Yes friends, we have one last 2025 trip to roll out! Who’s it for? Well, here’s a hint: if you were hoping we’d do a bare-bones, low-cost version of our Sake-themed trip to Japan, you are in luck. Because… that’s what this is.

Sake Secret Fall 2025 is our second adventure with our friends at Sake Secret; in particular, Sake Secret founder and Sake Sommelier Greg Beck. We ran our first Sake Secret adventure earlier this year as a “Small Group Guaranteed” trip, with a bunch of fancy additions to make the trip a more “high-end” or “premium” experience. The journey took us to the north, from Akita down to Tokyo via a bunch of the Tohoku prefectures where Sake is an inseparable part of the local culture. It was awesome.

When we were first designing the last trip, the idea was that there would eventually be another Sake adventure; one that was not a “Small Group Guaranteed” trip that was also priced to be a bit more accessible. While the timeline for such a trip was always a bit of a mystery, we decided that it would be best not to let a good idea wait, so here it is!

About the journey

While the last trip headed north, this one is heading west - all the way back to the roots of Sake Secret itself. Beginning in Hiroshima, the city where Greg became a Sake pro, the journey kicks off with the region’s famous Saijo Sake Festival before checking out a ton of the local haunts and sites that make Hiroshima such an amazing place to visit. From there, the journey continues east to Tomonoura, a PacSet fave and home to Homeishu Brewing, which we first visited all the way back on Anime De-Tour 2014 (and again in 2022, for those keeping score). Two other breweries round out the day as we move to Okayama, which was just a part of Omakase 2025.

After exploring Okayama and the famous historical quarter in Kurashiki, the journey keeps moving to Kansai, where we’ll hit Himeji Castle, enjoy the views at the Nunobiki Garden overlooking Kobe, and eat/drink our way across Osaka. Of course, we’ll also be visiting a few more breweries, capping the entire adventure off with a stop at Kenbishi in Kobe (which those of you who were on the Lords of the Trident/Seven Spires trip might remember!).

Whether you love Sake, are a casual Sake fan, or are just bummed you missed out on the first adventure, this is the trip for you!

MORE PRICE DROPS!

In our last update, we rolled out some very welcome price drops for Anime De-Tour 2026 AND Fests and Quests 2025. Today, we are pleased to announce another round of drops for our exclusive trip with Anime News Network, ANN in Japan 2025! Are you excited? You should be.

NEW PRICE DROP:

ANN in Japan 2025 • Tokyo Only Trip • Oct. 25/26 – Nov. 2 • $4,095 → $3,895
ANN in Japan 2025 • Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Kobe, Takarazuka (Full Trip) • Oct. 25/26 – Nov. 8 • $5,295 → $5,095

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED PRICE DROPS:

Anime De-Tour 2026 Alpha • Tokyo & Yokohama • Jan. 31/Feb. 1 – Feb. 9, 2026 • $3,795 → $3,395
Anime De-Tour 2026 Beta • Yokohama, Sapporo, Hakodate, Morioka, Ashinomaki Onsen • Feb. 6/Feb. 7 – Feb. 18, 2026 • $4,795 → $4,595
Fests and Quests 2025 • Tokyo, Kamakura, Yokohama, Kinugawa Onsen • $3,795 → $3,595

ABOUT THE TRIPS

ANN in Japan 2025 is our second trip with Anime News Network, and it’s a doozy. Not only will we be traveling with a journalist from ANN for the journey, but we’ll also be making a private, only-for-us visit to an Anime studio! This trip is jam packed with exclusive hangouts and content you cannot get anywhere else, not to mention the best of Tokyo and the best of Kansai on the extension. So what are you waiting for? Join us!

Fests and Quests is a brand new concept for us; a “best-of-the-city” trip with a hot spring visit, a trip to the best alternative art event in Japan, and a scavenger hunt. You heard me - a scavenger hunt. Why? Because you’re the kind of traveler who doesn’t want to do the same social-media-algorithm-fueled crap that every other tourist that visits Tokyo does. You’re better than that, right? Yeah, we thought so.

Anime De-Tour 2026 is the seventh edition of our flagship trip for the Anime Detour community. This trip has been going for a long time, which is why this year we’ve added a second trip to cover the basics for those who haven’t done them before. It’s two trips! And yes, we know that’s confusing and are going to be redoing the webpages for both soon since… it’s confusing. But hey, they’re both cheaper now, so if that’s your cup of tea, sign up!

ATTENTION ALUMNI: Come hang with us this summer!

If you’ve already traveled with us before, that makes you a PacSet alumni! And yeah, we know that “alumni” sounds funny outside of an academic context, but it sounds cool, so we’re sticking with it. Anyway:

An email went out last week to all of you about some cool hangouts we have planned this summer in Minneapolis, Denver, and Long Beach. If you are reading this and thinking, “huh, I didn’t see that email”, let us know or check your mailbox for a note from us. We’d love to see you this summer!

NEXT TIME: More news! Because that’s how these updates work.