When: Oct 10, 2010
Event Location: The Roseland Ballroom
Hotel Accommodations: Radio City*

X Japan is a heavy metal rock band known for their emphasis on ballads, incorporating piano into their music, and of course – the visual kei movement!

Tickets are limited so reserve today!

Need a flight? Let us know and we can quote that for you too!

Email us at go@popjapantravel.com with any questions and book your reservations!

*Accommodations at Radio City are subject to availability. Pricing based on double occupancy. Please contact us for single room charges.

THE HANABI AND AKADOT TOURS
in easy to digest bullet point form. Hooray!

• The short customs line at Narita Airport – Nice way to arrive
• The long, long lines at LAX - opposite of the previous statement
• Record breaking heat wave in Tokyo - not so great
• Eating cold noodles to beat that heat - a really good idea
• We bought way too many - figurines, CDs, yukata, servings of greasy festival food
• We didn’t buy enough – Water
• Watching fireworks – Cool
• Watching fireworks in a rice field with half a million people, drinking beers and laughing - Perfect
• Offering one of those beers to the locals sitting next to you – A good way to make friends
• The Ropeway cable car to the top of Mt. Nokogiri – Fun
• Walking up stairs on said mountain in the heat - Not fun
• Walking down those stairs – Fun, especially when you’re delirious
• Shopping in Harajuku – tight
• Shopping in Harajuku with people that have the same sense of humor you have – hella tight
• That Curry shop in Harajuku that didn’t mind when we took over their entire shop twice – delicious
• Sailing across Tokyo Bay – awesome
• Sailing across Tokyo Bay in a fancy ferry that serves Ice Cream - very, very awesome
• Being told that we are some of Jangara Ramen’s most loyal customers – an honor
• Going to the onsen to shower on a hot day – smart
• Racing people across the bath with the jagged rocks at the onsen – not smart
• Rain during a cliff hike – not so nice
• Having the rain clear so you can appreciate the beautiful views right when you get to the cliffs – wonderfully nice
• Hanging out and playing card games in your hotel room – super!
• Hanging out on the tatami mat and playing games – also super!
• Sleeping while standing up – A sign you need more sleep, or coffee
• Sleeping on the train – a sign that you had a lot of fun

When: Friday, July 30th, @ 12:00PM
Where: Programming 1 (Coral D)

Learn about travelling to Japan from our very own Evan Miller (also a guest of honor at the con!), try your luck in a raffle, and take advantage of special offers. =)

We hope to see you there!

This – not to mention views of the ocean – are what await visitors to the Ito Onsen area. For years, people have been asking us to put together a tour that involves a stay at a Japanese-style ryokan and hot spring (“onsen”), but we held off because we wanted the tour to be about much more than just a hotel stay. This year, we’re finally launching that tour – the Hanabi Tour!

The Hanabi Tour is something that we’ve been cooking up for a while now, and it centers around one idea: to give you the chance to experience the kind of summer fun that people in Japan do. We’ll be seeing two of the nation’s biggest fireworks (hanabi) displays, helping people get their own yukata (you know, those cool looking robes people wear at festivals ^_^), taking in a taiko drum concert, visiting shrines… oh, and of course staying at an onsen.

The price for all this? $2298 plus tax and fuel for the flight and the full 7 night/9 day tour!

There are a few big differences about this tour; to address those, we present a brief FAQ:

Why is tour a little more expensive than previous PJT tours?
Usually we have a main tour plus a 2-3 day “extension” that costs extra. With this tour, there is no extension – pretty much everything is included! So in that sense, you actually get a lot for your money!

Why can’t I get a single room at the Onsen?
At the onsen, we’re going to be staying in Japanese style rooms and sleeping on futons. This is something a lot of guests have requested in the past, and we’re really excited about it – but it does require that people share. Don’t worry though; the futons are unbelievably comfortable, and the rooms are spacious – you’ll be surprised how comfortable it is!

OMG isn’t an onsen one of those places where I have to get naked in front of other people OH NOOOOOOOO
Our onsen doesn’t have a “mixed bath”, so you don’t need to worry about showing your figure to members of the opposite sex. As for the group baths, you will be bathing with strangers, but people are there to experience the scenery and relax, not gawk at others. We promise that once you get in the water, your troubles will vanish*.

Where do I sign up again?
Right here. Still have questions? Drop us a line at go@popjapantravel.com! See you on the tour!

* Unless you are being hunted by ninjas. We can’t really help with that, sorry.

Pop Japan Travel Panel @ Fanime
Where: #2 Marriot Salon 3
When: Sunday @ 2-3PM

Learn all about traveling to Japan – whether you want to go solo, feel like travelling in a group, have a student budget, or want to splurge on the vacation of your dreams! We’ll be announcing our upcoming tours, giving out PJT brochures, screening exclusive videos, and having a raffle to win merchandise from Japan. We’ll also have a portion for questions and suggestions – so if you want to bring up your own tour idea at the panel, we’d love to hear it!

Hope to see you there! ^_^

Will a different tour be taking the place of Fujoshi Paradise next year – no more yaoi tours?

“Actually we’re not trying to get rid of the Yaoi Tour at all – we’re just trying to broaden the spectrum for what kind of people can attend this tour,” Gigi explains.

So what will become of the yaoi tour next year?

G: “A couple of things will change. First, we will be changing the name from Fujoshi Paradise, to Fangirl Paradise. “Fujoshi” is a term for yaoi fans to differentiate themselves with anime otaku, and while we do like making a tour exclusively for yaoi fans, we think we can cover that and more with the term “fangirl”. We want to include those who are interested in Johnnys or male idols in groups such as SMAP and ARASHI, or for those interested in J-dorama actors.”

If it’s changed to Fangirl Paradise, can guys still attend?

G: Yes of course! We’ll take anyone who wants to go to Japan! We know the name is a bit exclusive to girls since it is mostly girls who associate with this type of hobby, but in the end, the tour name is just a theme to give people an idea of what we’ll be focusing the tour activities. We understand that girls may be more attracted to this tour than guys and some hobbies are like that. We can always accommodate special requests to not participant in certain portions of the tour as well.

Are there any advantages to having an all-girl tour?

G: That’s interesting question – actually in Japan there are some places that you can only enter if you’re a girl! There are these photo sticker booths called purikura found at game centers, and the majority of them only allow women. They have a selection of cosplay costumes girls can change into then take pictures – so maybe they’re trying to avoid guys staring or taking pictures of random women? There are also butler cafes which only allow women, or will only allow men to enter after a certain time.

So if this tour is targeted towards girls, will you have a tour targeted at only guys in the future?

G: Hmm, we will think about it! I wonder what kind of tour that would be!

_______________________________

So sorry to scare all you yaoi fans – looks like the tour next year will not only include hot spots for yaoi, but places to buy (or fawn over) male idol merchandise. =)

Manga Juku Tour: Have you ever wanted to learn how to draw manga? Why not learn in the place that is considered the birthplace of manga? This tour not only features stops at Japan’s top anime, manga, and art supply meccas, but it also includes two special lessons at a manga school. If you’re ready to drop the crayons and get serious about producing your own manga, this is your tour!

Akadot Retail Tour: If you like anime and manga merchandise but are tired of scouring convention dealer rooms for rare items, this is the tour for you. We’ll be hitting Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, and a number of other retailers of rare anime character goods. When we aren’t bargain hunting, we’ll be visiting the Tokyo Toy Show, taking in Yokohama’s finest fireworks display, and even attending a summer festival!

Hanabi Summer Tour: If you’ve ever wanted to experience what summer in Japan is all about, we’ve created an amazing experience for you with our new Hanabi Summer Tour. We’ll be visiting two festivals, seeing two of Japan’s biggest fireworks displays, and weaving between traditional temples and the bustling attractions of modern Tokyo. We’re also trying to organize a special night or two at an Onsen for this tour – details to come.

As always, if you have questions about these or any other PJT tours, drop us a line here in the comments, or just e-mail popjapantravel at gmail dot com!

Finally – I’d like to send a personal thank you to the 30+ people who came out for the PJT “Life in Japan” discussion panel at Anime Detour this past weekend. Even though the panel took place early Sunday morning, people still came out to chat about Japanese Culture, Society, and travel with other sleep-deprived anime fans. Thank you all for joining us, and we hope to see you on a future tour! ^-^

After months of hard work, editing, designing, and life-changing moments, the brand new Pop Japan Travel site is officially online! Along with the new site, the information for our newest tours – the Manga Juku Tour and the Akadot Retail Tour, are also online. Enjoy the new site and let us know what you think!

We’re still squashing a few bugs here and there, so please pardon our dust as we finish our remodeling.