Without a doubt, one of the places I was looking forward to visiting most during my trip to Japan was the none other than the ultimate Pokémon fan’s paradise, the Pokémon Center. The Pokémon Center in Osaka changed locations since I was last in Japan in 2009, and luckily for me its new locale happened to be less than 10 minutes from my hotel! With it so close by, I had to make sure I stopped by a few times to make sure I didn’t miss any awesome merchandise (and fill up on StreetPasses, of course!).
Each Pokémon Center has its own two mascot Pokémon in addition to Pikachu. As you can see above, Osaka’s mascots are Meowth and Tepig, which makes for a pretty good trio, don’t you think?
See how there’s absolutely no one in the store, aside from the poor employee who got caught in my photo? That’s because I took these on a weekday morning. All of the employees were wearing these awesome 15th anniversary t-shirts (here’s a closeup of the logo)… I liked the design so much that I asked if I could purchase one, but apparently they’re uniforms and not for sale. Bummer!
Right near the main entrance was a great display of a number of limited-run Pokémon Center items, which I assume was there for the 15th anniversary celebration (though it could be a permanent fixture, someone please correct me if you know). Why hasn’t someone made a Pokémon museum yet?
A closer look at the counter revealed quite the array of Pikachu plushies from various years!
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| The TV was constantly showing commercials for Pokémon X/Y |
Part of the 15th anniversary celebration included special Pokémon distributions at Pokémon Centers around the country. The Osaka store had a level 100 Emboar for download, but unfortunately I only brought my Japanese 3DS and an English copy of Pokémon Black 2 with me, so due to region-locking restrictions I wasn’t able to connect to the wifi to download an Emboar. Bad planning on my part!
These memorial coin machines had the most adorable designs!
As you can see, the store was practically empty! It was completely packed with children and their parents on the weekend, though.
Of course, there was also a big display for the latest Pokémon movie. I’ve never been a fan of the movies myself, but something here caught my eye…
… the display for the Pikachu short that will play before the film! Talk about cute! I’d probably go just to see that…
The announcement of the new Eevee evolution Sylveon brought an onslaught of merchandise focused on all the different Eevee forms. I’m pretty sure an Eevee fan would be in heaven here!
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| A poster for one of the current Eevee collections |
Remember the Pokémomo and regional Pokémon goods I wrote about back in April? They had their own displays, too!
It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by all the cute! These Pokémon dolls were adorable, but I couldn’t decide which one I wanted, so in the end I didn’t buy any. Looking back, I wish I grabbed one of the Bulbasaurs!
While there were a lot of the usual Pokémon favorites on display, I must say I was quite surprised to see so many Rotom goods.
Speaking of unusual Pokémon, what’s with the fascination with Miltank? While we’re at it, why not release some Luvdisc merchandise, too? Well, okay, I get a kick out of Miltank, but Luvdisc is pushing it a little, even for me.
But would you believe that the only merchandise I was able to find for my current favorite Pokémon, Swadloon, was this keychain set? I guess I’m the only one who understands the true appeal of Swadloon…
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the Pokémon Center in Osaka! Since I took so many photos, I’ve decided to save my haul for an upcoming post. Keep your eyes peeled for it later this week!
Wow! There’s certainly no lack of Pokemon merchandise at that place, is there? Of course, what should I have expected, I guess? Anyway, I totally would’ve picked up one of those “Milk Cookies” containers, Anne. They’re adorable! I imagine you picked up so much other stuff, though, that it was easy to leave those behind 🙂 I look forward to hearing more about–and seeing more of–your haul, by the way. Bring it on!
OMG! OMG! OMG! That’s the greatest place on earth! ♥
Pokemon heaven indeed! And man that Pikachu short looks tempting, I might just check it out when it’s released for cuteness sake. Pikachu shorts are always better than the actual movies anyway, except the first two of course. And oh gosh, for a second I thought those keychains were earrings! So disappointed!
Thanks for posting your visit to the Osaka Pokemon Centre! I’ll look forward to the new pics.
Dare I say I thought the Osaka PokeCen was better than the Tokyo one but hey what do I know. I still have my keychain from the Osaka one.. ‘aint they just like totally magical places?
I knew you’d like the milk cookies, Bryan! Well, I’ll tell you what… Remember that Miltank keychain I tweeted a photo of a while back? I actually went back to the store just to buy it! I decided it was too goofy *not* to own. As for the cookies, the packaging is adorable, but since it was made out of flimsy cardboard (and not, say, something more permanent like a tin) I decided to skip it. Only so many things one can buy!
It really is!
Oh, I’d love it if they sold earrings! As for the Pikachu shorts, I definitely agree with you. The first two movies were great at the time, but from then on I’ve generally only watched the shorts and skipped the movies… Unless they happened to be on television (I’ve actually seen the Darkrai movie, haha)
And you’re welcome! My next post will be full of all the goodies I bought 🙂
Oh, really? I’ve never been to the Tokyo one, so I couldn’t compare the two! Apparently when the new Osaka location was built in 2010 it was the largest Pokemon Center in the world, but I don’t know if that’s still the case. But I definitely agree with you about them being magical!
I can never go into this store because if I did I’d probably be poor by the time I left.
Believe me, it was hard not to buy everything!
OMG, I love Evee!! XD
Nice write up! I will certainly visit it on my trip there.
Holy cow I would spend so much money. The pokemomo is adorable! New york is nothing compared to this.
Oh, when are you going?? If you like Pokemon, I’m sure you’ll love it!
They don’t have a separate Pokemon store in NY, right? Is it part of the Nintendo World Store?
I must say, I managed to not spend *too* much money because I avoided a lot of the expensive things like plushies. But I still bought a lot!!
yeah my childhood !!! 😀 next week 🙂
Awesome! Have fun!!
Hmm… Unfortunately I can’t remember! I *think* I saw a regular Buizel plush but I don’t know if it was the kind you’re looking for… If you’re in Japan, it wouldn’t hurt to check!
Great blog post, looks so colourful. Do you know which of the Pokemon centres is the largest? There’s two in Tokyo, and one in Osaka. I would like to visit the biggest one. Thanks
Thanks! I actually just got back from Tokyo, and I went to the largest Pokemon Center there (the one in Hamamatsucho). It’s hard to say whether that or the Osaka one was bigger, but I think I personally preferred the Osaka store! I think they’re pretty similar, though, so you’d probably be happy with either one. I’ll be doing a post about the Tokyo one very soon, so do keep an eye out for that if you’re interested!
Was there a buizel beanie plush, Mine went missing and I’ve searched for years for one. Finally I got to Japan and I’m hoping I can find one there.