To celebrate Pokémon Day, I thought I would share some of the fun Pokémon related things you can do and places you can visit in Japan.
PokeLids
This is probably my biggest obsession when I visit Japan and it’s free and easy to do. Throughout Japan there are manhole covers decorated with different Pokémon. Some are the ‘Ambassadorial’ Pokémon for specific prefectures and some are linked to certain cities — Slowpoke (Yadon) is linked to Kagawa, Yokohama has all Pikachu designs due to their festival and Machida (the hometown of the creator) is home to the original starter Pokémon.
Sometimes you’ll find them in populated areas and tourist spots, but often they’re in places that draw less amounts of tourism or occasionally in residential areas. There’s a map online that lists them all by prefecture so you can pin them to your own maps and have an adventure. They’re a great invitation to explore areas you may never have thought of, or an extra bit of fun when visiting places you already had in mind. Gotta catch ‘em all!
Trains & Transport
High on my Japan bucket list is to ride the POKÉMON with YOU train in Iwate, which was brought about to encourage children to come and enjoy Tohoku after the earthquake. It’s Pikachu themed with both the outside and inside of the train decorated to represent everybody’s favourite electric-type Pokémon.
Other areas of Japan also have Pokémon trains. The Kintetsu Railway have an Oshawott decorated train on their line out from Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya into Mie; Fukui (famous for dinosaurs) have a Dragonite train running between Fukui city and the dinosaur museum; and lastly Kagawa prefecture not only has a train running on its Kotoden line out of Takamatsu themed to Slowpoke, but it also has a Slowpoke ferry too. Don’t forget that while these trains exist, they don’t necessarily run every day or at every time, so check the schedules and also confirm whether you need to book a seat or not. (I tried to ride the Slowpoke train, but sadly I never saw the train when I was there).
Playground Parks
As I mentioned with the PokéLids, some prefectures have specific Pokémon as ambassadors. For example, Slowpoke/Yadon is linked to Kagawa due to the similarity between Yadon and udon (the noodle dish the prefecture is famous for) and Chansey/Lucky is linked to Fukushima due to ‘fuku’ meaning luck and generally wanting to bring good fortune to the area post-disaster.
These prefectures and others also have playground parks dedicated to their chosen Pokémon, with Chansey actually having four in Fukushima that feature other pink Pokémon too, like Lickitung and Cherrim’s sunshine form. Other prefectures with parks include: two in Iwate with their ambassador Geodude and other rock-type Pokémon; one in Tottori with Sandshrew; one in Kagawa with Slowpoke; two in Mie with Oshawott; one in Miyagi with Lapras; plus a Gyarados park in Hiroshima city. The playgrounds are primarily for children to enjoy, so remember that when visiting, but I love seeing these larger than life Pokémon popping up around the country.
PokePark Kanto
This park opening has been highly anticipated and finally opened earlier this month. Located inside Yomiuriland in Kawasaki (super close to Tokyo) PokéPark Kanto isn’t a ‘theme park’ in the traditional sense, but instead offers you the opportunity to feel like a real life Pokémon trainer and explore their forest for Pokémon.
There’s also a chance to see Nurse Joy (and Chansey) at work healing Pokémon in the Pokémon Center, which is like stepping right into the game. You can also ride a couple of Pokémon themed rides (such as the Vee Vee Voyage carousel), eat Pokémon themed foods, enjoy a show and parade, and pick up some specific merchandise all while in Sedge Town. It’s been difficult for people to grab tickets to visit, but once it’s been open for a while, hopefully it’ll get a little easier…
Cafes & Food
The Pokémon cafe is one of the better themed character cafes in Japan and while the prices are high and reservations hard to get, the theming, food quality and an appearance from a character (usually Pikachu) make it one I’d still recommend. If you just want somewhere to pop into without a reservation, then the Pikachu Sweets cafe in Ikebukuro is a walk-in spot. The drinks are delicious, but the food is more about looks over taste. The cafe itself is super cute though and definitely worth a visit. We have articles about our own visits to both the main cafe branches in Tokyo & Osaka and the Pikachu Sweets cafe in Tokyo too, if you want more detailed information.
Universal Studios Japan
There’s been an announcement that Pokémon and Universal Studios Japan are going to be collaborating more permanently in the future, but for now, Pokémon pops up in the park on a pretty regular basis. For Halloween and New Year they have characters in the parks doing stage shows and meet and greets and there’s often themed food too. In the spring/summer season they’ve been included in the parades and I got my hands on a VERY cute Pikachu steamed bun too.
Hotel Rooms
Mimaru Hotels offer you the opportunity to sleep in Pokémon themed rooms in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, in their apartment style family rooms with space for 4-6 people. Pokémon are EVERYWHERE, Snorlax is sleeping on the bed and the dishware has pokéballs on them. You even get a bag of exclusive novelty goods included. I would love to stay here! The price isn’t cheap per night if you’re a family, but for a special occasion or if you had a group of friends wanting to have a fun Pokémon themed experience to split the cost with, then it would definitely be worth it. Some hotels in Kagawa have Slowpoke themed rooms, although I’m not sure that all the hotels linked on the website are continuously offering them
Pokémon Center
Last but not least, we have the Pokémon Center. This is your one stop shop for all things Pokémon and while I could list everything it stocks, I’m actually going to tell you my favourite thing about them – the themed statues in every store. Each one has a different Pokémon (or multiple) at the front and centre of each store welcoming you in. For example, Osaka’s branch in Shinsaibashi has the original legendary bird trio Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres; Kanazawa has Milotic; and Takamatsu has Slowpoke with a moving Pikachu.
The Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro is a fun one, as it has displays outside the store full of lots of smaller statues of all the starters alongside its main one of Pikachu riding Mega Charizard. Sendai might by the winner though, as it has a Pokémon themed matsuri float design as one of its decorations, plus it brings together all six Tohoku prefectures in one place celebrating festivals from each one.
Alongside all of these, you’ve got gacha to hunt for, Pokémon Go to play, and plenty of snack collaborations to find. There’s never a shortage of Pokémon-related things to do in Japan. Enjoy!
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