My Trip to Japan: Pokemon

What kind of trip to Japan would be complete without seeking out the Pokemon centers throughout the country?  Not mine that’s for sure.  Luckily my traveling companions shared the sentiment, and we made sure to find as many Pokemon outlets as possible throughout the trip.

So, to be clear, Japan has several Pokemon Center stores in several cities, with a recently built Pokemon Center DX in Tokyo that has a brand new Pokemon Cafe inside.  In addition, there are racks of Pokemon stuff in many of the stores and outlets.  After visiting all these locations, we had a mountain of Pokemon plushies (and other stuff) to stuff in the suitcases to take home.

Example A – rack of various Pokemon gear including plushies, keychains, pillows.  I was happy to see that things weren’t just limited to Pikachu, Snorlax, and the starters, etc. but also includes lesser known Pokemon like Machop.

Walking through a subway station and there was a Pikachu taking pictures with people (and the line wasn’t short).  I didn’t get a picture WITH Pikachu and just took this instead.

Further down from the Pikachu mascot was the Pokemon Store above.  It was overflowing with people scanning through all the items.  I was looking for a Pinsir to give as a gift, but didn’t find anything here.  I think Scyther would’ve been cool as well.

Here is the entryway to the Pokemon Center in Kyoto.  The Ho-Oh was a neat eye-catching statute, including the riding Pikachu.  One thing to mention – each of these Pokemon stores have collectible Pikachus that are dressed in a certain way, and are only available at that location.

Another Pokemon display on the way to the big Tokyo Pokemon Center.  This was in the main area of the mall as you enter.  If you couldn’t tell, Pikachu is quite popular in all these displays, as the little electric mouse has carried the franchise’s mascot banner for many years now.

Alright, here we go.  We finally found the brand new Pokemon Center Tokyo DX which was not immediately easy to find.

As you enter the Center, gotta have the huge statute to greet you.  This time its Snorlax with Pikachu and Mew.  This thing was pretty big and the main lobby here broke off to take you to the store and separately to the Pokemon Cafe.

Due to our visit so close to the Center’s opening, there were tons of people and also many staff members helping you find things or give out some free promotional items.  You could also download special Pokemon if you brought your 3DS.

This was the main entryway into the store area.  As you can tell, it was pretty packed.  Behind me and to the left of this picture were groups of people downloading promotional Pokemon, and also doing battles.

Just inside was a huge wall of Pokemon TCG Pikachu cards.  I had no idea there were so many.  My favorite was probably Surfing Pikachu or Pikachu With Balloons, just because both of them play a role in the Pokemon TCG for Gameboy Color.

A little further in and there is various Pokemon media playing or displayed behind this big glass wall.

More of the same.  They would play Pokemon anime episodes as well as music from throughout the animated series.  You can also see screenshots from some of the games.  Had a bit of historical feel as well, representing various parts of the iconic series.

Finally into the store proper.  You can see the limited edition Pikachu dressed as a chef here.  They had pencils, clothes, dishes, silverware, Lego, cards, pretty much anything you can think of was represented.

Here you can see the display for Pokemon TCG products, as well as Pokemon snacks and candies.  On the far wall were Pokemon backpacks and underwear.  I walked around the same area over and over just finding new little strange things that had been Pokemon-ized.

Rows and rows and rows of plushies available.  I ended up with a Marrill, Vulpix, Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff, Oddish, and Snorlax.  And a Dragonite.  Its not a problem I can stop whenever I want!

Even the queue for the cash registers had unique items and some displays that were neat.  The store side was fairly big (much bigger than the Kyoto or Train Station stores) and that doesn’t include the Pokemon Cafe.

Tired and hungry after searching through stacks of plushies?  Have no fear, there is a Pokemon theme cafe right on the other side of Snorlax.

Yes, all the foods and drinks are Pokemon themed and shaped.  Yes its pretty pricey.  It’s almost impossible to get a reservation (its by reservation only currently).

Order up!  Pokemon Cafe ordering stations.

To hide the tables, what better than to use a huge row of more Pokemon merchandise?  Again showing off the limited edition Pikachus and various Pokemon-themed cutlery.

That’s all the pictures I had from our various Pokemon excursions.  I’d highly suggest future travelers or residents to check out the big Tokyo store and the Cafe.  It’s brand new, and everything is well stocked, clean, with helpful staff.  The prices weren’t actually too bad (although the giant Ditto pillow I wanted was a bit on the high side).  Definitely worth it for the experience (and maybe the free stuff too!).

Have you ever been to a Pokemon Center store in Japan or elsewhere?  Have you built a Pokemon plushie stash?  Share below!