#141 Pokemon Center Tokyo 2016

A few years back I wrote about my rather disappointing experience at the Pokemon Center in Tokyo. However, I went back at the end of last summer (in the height of the Pokemon Go craze!) to the newest Pokemon Center, located at a major attraction, Tokyo SkyTree.

I have to admit, there was a huge improvement. While it's still basically just a shop full of Pokemon goods, the difference was amazing. On my first visit the location in Minato ku, Tokyo, was little obscure (not so close to other attractions) and there were mostly goods from the newer generations of Pokemon aimed at the Japanese market (things like chopstick holders or little napkins to place your lunch on - not something particularly useful in the West!). I found I wanted to spend money, but had nothing worthwhile to spend it on.

Since I was in the neighbuorhood of Tokyo Skytree I found the brand new Pokemon Center, located the "Solamachi" - the big shopping complex at that houses the base of SkyTree. This time, I found I wanted to buy half the shop! There were absolutely tons of the first generation Pokemon found on stationery, soft toys, apparel etc. While the price isn't cheap, there should be something for everyone regardless of budget.

Pokemon, much like Hello Kitty, is one of the many quintessentially Japanese themed things many people think of. While I do think there are better ways to spend your time in Japan, and I whole heartedly recommend you to also check out places like Daiso (dollar stores) for cheap things with Pokemon and various Japanese characters on them, a visit to Skytree is worth it, and since you're in the area you might as well pop in!