Our Story

Meet PacSet!

A whole new way to travel.

We believe that travel to Japan should be for everyone. We believe in traveling in groups of friends, where you have the freedom to explore but always have the support of a team of dedicated professionals.

We believe in picnics with locals under the cherry blossoms, traveling way off the beaten path, and exploring just for the fun of it. We don’t believe in a tour style where you are part of a uniform group locked onto a bus or following a flag.

We believe in being out with the locals experiencing the parts of their home that they love – and you’ll love too.

We launched mere months after 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, and our mission remains unchanged: to prove that Japan travel is for everyone, and that there’s a completely different way to do it.

Want to learn more about what we’re about? Drop us a line or check out our tour offerings.

The Team

PacSet is a small family business run by the amazing staff shown here. Otsukare-sama desu!

Christine Kitajima
Lover of all things Kansai, organizational mastermind, and full-time dog aficionado.

Valerie Hwang
Keeper of the school tours, fearless explorer, nightlife expert, and cat person.

Evan Miller
Master of the itineraries, lover of good food, and nerdy guy. Oh, and he runs this whole thing.

Kippu PacSet’s adorable official mascot. We’re not sure how he got the jetpack, but he looks cute flying around with it, so that’s cool.

OUR ALUMNI ARE AWESOME

A sampling of the nice, fantastic things our guests have said about us. We wouldn’t be PacSet without them!

“Evan is a great tour guide, knows what he’s doing, tries to tailor tour to each person. Great tour overall, well planned, memorable experience.” – Animated Summer 2014

“This tour made everything I had ever dreamed for Japan to be a reality, giving me healthy doses of old, new, high and low class Japanese culture that I never would have thought I could experience. If I could only make one trip to Japan it would have to be this one.” <3 Haleigh Toney, Anime De-Tour 2012

“Couldn’t have asked for a better trip…the tour guide who manages to be attentive to the needs of each individual in the group. That sort of personal touch is hard to find. Best anime tour out there!” – Animated Spring 2013

“From the secret food hot spots to the hidden shops and activities, PacSet knows how to put together a tour that isn’t just a block schedule of events.” – Tyler, School of Summer 2013

“An awesome tour overall. You guys may be small but you’re doing a fantastic job.” – NYC Hearts Japan 2013

“I felt like I was touring with my family not just some faceless company. I will definitely be choosing PacSet Tours for my next excursion to Japan.” – Hannah, Japan Holiday 2013

“It’s really hard to say how amazing this experience was. The overall tour was more than I expected, the guides are beyond friendly and accommodating.” – Kyle, Anime De-Tour 2014

“I leave Japan wanting to come back as soon as I can. Having tour guides who know the country inside and out and love it (even more) than you is perfect.” – Sam, Pawprint Pathways 2014

“I loved the integration of anime into actual culture of Japan. It was a very relatable segway into Japan and for myself, it could not have been done better.” – Brandon, Third Impact 2014

“I cannot praise my experience with the tour any higher. From the first step of the process to the end, everything went better than I could have ever dreamed.” – Aaron, Animated Summer 2015

“Can you have more than one ‘experience of a lifetime?’ Yes! Go on multiple PacSet tours!” – Anime De-Tour 2016

“Throughout the trip, Evan was very attentive to everyone’s needs and on many occasions, became aware of something I may need even before I knew it.” – Leslie, Japan Holiday 2016

WE POWER PACSET

PacSet is way more than our team. We have had a lot of help along the way, from tour guests, sponsors, friends, and family. There is really no way to express how thankful we are for their help, their time, and their constant support. <3

Anime Twin Cities
Anime News Network
The Right Stuf Int’l
Japan National Tourism Organization
USC Small Business Clinic
Stef Benham
Zac Bertschy
John Crayton
Bamboo Dong
Tina Grindol

Junko Kitagawa
Lanny Liu
Vivian Liu
Sandia Ma
Christopher MacDonald
Howard Miller
Emily Warren Rice
Catherine Wasson
Emily Wing
Rebecca Wu

CREDITS

PacSet Tours Inc. is:

Valerie Hwang
Christine Kitajima
Evan Miller

Created by:

Lanny Liu
Evan Miller

Emeritus Staff:

Megumi Kawase
Lanny Liu

Supporters/”The Family”:

Stefanie Benham
Heidi Christian
Miho Fukuoka
Gigi Guiting
Anita Tai
Rebecca Wu