In Kyoto, Pikachu wears a kimono with a Ho-Oh design and a Vivillion-adorned hair accessory.
Kyoto will finally get its very own Pokémon Center, set to open on 16 March on the fifth floor of the city’s Takashimaya department store. The new shop will sell over 2,500 different kinds of Pokémon goods, with a number of items featuring the new logo for the Kyoto branch, which sees Pikachu riding on the back of the colourfully-winged Ho-Oh.
The logo will be displayed prominently in the middle of the store, and is designed to appear as if Pikachu and Ho-Oh have flown in to Kyoto from the world of Pokémon.
The shop, which covers an area of 206.2 square metres (2,219 square feet), will stock all types of Pokémon merchandise, from plush toys to clothing, accessories and stationery.
There’ll also be a large number of original goods combining the world of Pokémon with Kyoto-themed elements, making them ideal souvenirs for tourists both from within Japan and abroad.
There are currently nine Pokémon Centers around Japan, with locations in Fukuoka, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Yokohama, Sendai, Sapporo, Chiba, and Ikebukuro in Tokyo. Each store has their own range of original goods, and for the opening in Kyoto, customers can expect to see a very special type of Pikachu, designed to embody the culture and feel of the historic locale.
▼ The mascot for the Kyoto store is “Maiko Pikachu”, who comes dressed in a kimono featuring a Ho-Oh design and wears an elaborate Vivillion hair accessory.
▼ Complete with a Poké Ball parasol, Pikachu looks surprisingly elegant as an apprentice gesiha!
More details regarding the opening event and the upcoming line of original Maiko Pikachu goods will be released closer to the March opening date. With this being one of the most adorable mascots they’ve ever released, we hope store staff will limit the number of items per customer to avoid the crazy mass-buying chaos we saw at the 2014 opening of the Tokyo store.
Shop Information
Pokémon Center Kyoto/ポケモンセンターキョウト
Kyoto Takashimaya Department Store 5F, Kyoto-fu, Kyoto-shi, Shimogyo-ku, Shijo-dori Kawaramachi Nishiiru Shincho 52
京都髙島屋 5F京都府京都市 下京区四条通河原町西入真町 52番地
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Source: Pokémon Official Website
Top Image: Pokérin
Insert Images: Pokérin, Pokémon Official Website
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