Digital Manga’s Travel Agency
Posted in Manga News on November 21, 2006 by JohannaHunh. That’s an interesting product extension. Turns out that Digital Manga also owns a travel agency, Pop Japan Travel.
Pop Japan Travel aims to bring those new experiences to any and all that have an inkling to visit Japan and get a taste of its unique culture. From now, Pop Japan Travel will strive to include the most unique and special sites and activities into its tours that can’t be found on any other tour service to Japan. This means that it will not focus solely on anime and manga, but on every aspect of the intriguing pop culture you can find in the country.
While you can already see this change taking effect on the general theme of Pop Japan Travel Tours, with upcoming tours like the Yaoi Bishonen & Boys Love Tour, the Gothic & Lolita Tour, and the Ultimate Ninja Tour, you can still find all of the exciting activities participants have enjoyed on past tours like trips to anime production studios, traditional sightseeing, and, of course, ample shopping in Tokyo’s hottest areas like Akihabara, Harajuku, and Shibuya. Whether or not you’re a Yaoi fan, or a Gothic & Lolita fan, or really like ninjas, you’ll still have the chance to buy toys, manga, games, and other anime-related goods on any of Pop Japan Travel’s tours.
I would be frightened to go on something called a Boys Love Tour. Isn’t that more typical of Thailand?
Seriously, this sounds like smart niche marketing. For one fee (from $2200-2500), you get an 8- or 9-day trip arranged to suit your particular fan interests.
Similar Posts: Pop Japan Travel § Wanna Sell Your Manga in Japan? § Viz Buys Movie Theater § Viz on Sale at Borders; Everything Yaoi § Digital Manga Goes Digital
11/21/2006 at 6:17 pm
Yaoi Bishonen & Boys Love Tour, the Gothic & Lolita Tour, and the Ultimate Ninja Tour…
This has GOT to be an experiment done by the most F’d up Sociologist on the planet. There can be no other explanation.
Okay, to be fair, I suppose its less creepy than the share a cruise with your favorite soap stars (or editors of The Nation for that matter). But still…
11/21/2006 at 7:16 pm
I have to admit the Ultimate Ninja Tour sounds pretty cool, though I imagine tours of former ninja villages are popular enough that you could arrange one yourself. I wonder about the “Gothic and Lolita” tour since the only customization I notice would be the trip to the fashionable Harajuku district, which I expect would appeal to more than fans of the gothic style… maybe that’s a more devoted niche?
11/22/2006 at 9:34 am
[...] Press release corner: Digital Manga has opened a travel agency and Tokyopop is putting its name on manga-creation software. I’m linking to Johanna’s versions of the press releases as she has good comments on both. [...]
11/22/2006 at 3:09 pm
I’m surprised at how expensive these are, actually – the “Samurai and Snow Festival” tour is $1,700 bucks for a bunch of attractions, mostly in Tokyo, that are pretty easy to get to without a tour guide. By comparison, here’s a $1,800 tour that takes you to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, Nara, Hiroshima and Miyajima…
If these sell well, it’ll be because they do great targeted marketing, not because the tours themselves are any great shakes.
11/22/2006 at 3:33 pm
Yeah, I think a known brand name — even if they’re known for something else, like books — may make some people more comfortable, too.
04/26/2007 at 8:20 pm
all of these tours sound soooo cool!!!! I want to go to them all!!!!!!
03/01/2008 at 2:04 pm
[...] Japan Travel, the Digital Manga travel agency that runs tours for fans of Japanese anime, manga, fashion, and culture, has [...]