PACSET LORE!
Travel Among Friends is our motto. And that vibe leads to… lore.
Over the years, we’ve fostered a number of traditions on our trips. They kinda make us who we are, but they’re not really something we advertise that much. So: here they are, on a teeny little site we’ve tucked deep in the recesses of this humble website. The traditions we love, in no uncertain order, include…
THE ONSEN PARTY
There’s an unspoken tradition of sorts in Japan: when kids go on field trips to ryokans or hot spring (onsen) ryokans, they’ll occasionally gather in one of the rooms, bring a bunch of snacks and drinks from the conbini, and hang out. Adults do this as well; it isn’t all that rare to see groups of adults hanging out on tatami sharing a bottle of sake or two. When we started PacSet, we felt that the community feeling of these parties was something we wanted to continue, so whenever we stay at an Onsen, we help organize them. Guests offer a room, and anyone who wants to come by does.
THE FINISHED BOTTLE RULE
This one started at one of the onsen parties, and we don’t really remember when, but: the house rule on PacSet is that whoever finishes a bottle of sake (or beer) needs to blow across the top of it like a musical instrument. It’s silly, but we’ve kept it up for more than a decade now, so…
TYPHOON BOWLING
Typhoons are just one of the weather events that happen in Japan, and they have affected the schedules of more than a few trips over the years. Following a typhoon on 2015’s Animated Summer trip, we discovered that the only place open to hang out was… the bowling alley. So we went out, played a few frames, and resumed the trip as scheduled that afternoon. The silly thing is that it happened again on another typhoon-affected trip… and again… so now, if it looks like weather is going to affect our plans, if the alley is open, we go there!
BREAK FOR PETS
If we pass or encounter a cat or dog that we can pet, and we have the time, we absolutely make time to stop and pet that cat or dog. There’s no real cultural reasoning behind it; we do this because we have souls and like to appreciate cute things.
COCOA AND LIGHTS
When going to see holiday light displays on Japan Holiday, we buy everyone cocoa. This tradition is actually an “Evan” thing; his Dad used to get cocoa for him and his brother when they drove around to look at Christmas lights in Minnesota. We like that idea, and we like cocoa, so the tradition continues.
A big thank you and apology to the cafes and shops who have been called upon to make 20 cups of cocoa for a group of tourists. <3