PJT Japan Rises Contest

Japan has bounced back astonishingly quickly from the terrible tsunami last March, but there is still a lot more everyone can do to help. There are a few great ways individuals can help rebuild, like this project on GlobalGiving.org, which has already raised over $8 million (but could use a lot more!) and this project from Architecture for Humanity

But Digital Manga (PJT's parent company) knows smaller companies can do something to help too! We've been working on our own projects to help Japan rebuild, but we also want to hear your ideas! How should Digital Manga help Japan now that one year has passed since the disaster? In 500 words or less, tell us your answer!

The best idea will win a free manga mini-library and $200 off a Pop Japan Travel group tour!

E-mail your ideas to [email protected] today! The contest ends June 20!

Terms and conditions:
Only legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia 18 and older are eligible to enter. Employees and partners of Digital Manga, Inc. and their family members are not eligible.
The contest begins April 19, 2012 at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time and ends June 20, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be announced and notified by e-mail by July 1, 2012.
The winner will receive $200 off any scheduled Pop Japan Travel group tour. The $200 may be applied to a reservation you have already made, but it may not be applied to any reservation for a tour after that tour's departure date.
Submit your entry by e-mail to [email protected] and include your name., e-mail address and delivery address.

Group Tours

ALPHA+OMEGA ADVENTURE - AUG. 29-SEPT. 7
The Best of PJT... and Then Some!The Alpha+Omega tour has everything that made PJT great: meetings with artists, a special event organized with a cutting-edge street fashion brand, a trip inside an anime studio, a booth at the Comitia dojinshi market, a unique look at Japanese traditions and history as well as great shopping destinations...

But it's also got a long list of exclusive experiences we've never done before: A calligraphy experience in an authentic Tokugawa-era teahouse in Gion, Kyoto - home of the geisha. A personalized "PJT street fashion mag" created by a professional photographer. A fully guided meal option full of Japan's best-kept culinary secrets. A trip to Takarazuka to see a show by the world-famous all-women theater troupe and to visit The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum.

The price for this tour includes:

6 days, 5 nights in Tokyo; 1 day and night in Kyoto; 3 days, 2 nights in Osaka - all with fully guided tours

Full hotel accommodations

Transportation to & from tour activities

Admission and a booth at the Comitia dojinshi market

Admission to the Ghibli Museum and The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

Seats for a Takarazuka Revue show

A special two-hour calligraphy experience, with Japanese tea and sweets in Kyoto's Gion district

A traditional farewell banquet on the banks of the Kamo River in Kyoto

A private bus tour of Kyoto

Admission to Kinkakuji Temple, Nijo Castle, Sanjusangendo Hall, Kiyomizu Temple and Saihoji (the elusive "moss temple")

The "Pop Japan Gourmet Course" includes meals every day at culinary hot spots (optional)

Professional, bilingual tour guides

Customized tour guidebook with maps, descriptions, and Japanese phrases

Yes, this is ALL in one tour, and we're insanely excited to bring it to you!
Registration is only open until June 29, so sign up now!

Spotlight on: Pop Japan Gourmet Course
For the first time, we're including 14 meals in the tour price. Here are just a few of the tantalizing options we have planned:

A welcome dinner of Satsuma-age, smoked mackeral, chazuke and craft sake.

A massive pub crawl in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa neighborhood that will include Okinawan food, craft beer, weird art, cool music and more!

Nagoya-style unagi eel served traditionally three different ways in one bowl, at a restaurant overlooking the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

A kitchen team that hand-picks local produce to create unusual new twists on Japanese classics.

Robatayaki (meat and fish grilled over an open hearth, in the traditional style)

Exotic regional delicacies from Miyazaki on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, with a wide selection of local sakes.

A luncheon mini-kaiseki feast at a restaurant run by an Iron Chef Japan.

Traditional mackeral sushi in the traditional center of Kyoto culture, Gion.

A modern innovation on Kyoto-style cuisine: soy ramen.

Our favorite tonkatsu (pork cutlets) in the world, with fresh-ground sesame.


And of course, everyone gets to enjoy our big finale: A dinner on an outdoor deck above the Kamo River in Kyoto's Kawaramachi district, an experience travelers in Kyoto have been enjoying for generations. Check out the tour page for more details!