The park is known for its colorful flower gardens, and now for its abundance of Pokémon too!

History buffs probably already know that the ORIGINAL original capital of Japan, before Edo and even before Kyoto, was Nara. The city prides itself on its history, with beautiful sites and cultural experiences rivaling those to be found in Kyoto. One of the most famous tourists spots is Todaiji Temple and the surrounding Nara Park, which is best known for the herds of free-roaming deer that will allow you to come right up to feed them. Or, they may come right up to you and take what they want instead!

Feeding the deer and seeing the sites is all fun and good, of course, but we know that with the recent release of second-generation Pokémon for Pokémon GO, catching ’em all is on the top of everybody’s list once again. If you’d like to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery that Nara has to offer, and still get your GO quota for the day, then you’ll want to head over to Umamikyuryo Park. Our Japanese-language writer, K. Masami, is a resident of Nara, and after hearing rumors that the park was a great place to find some rare Pokémon, she decided to go check it out for herself.

Umamikyuryo Park is the second largest park in Nara Prefecture, falling right behind the famous Nara Park, and is also well-known for the tulip festival held there each spring. It is also apparently absolutely full of Sneasels!

Everywhere our writer turned, there was another Sneasel. To the left, to the right, hiding in the grass and even guarding the gym.

After wandering around for a bit, there was suddenly no more Sneasels to be found. Instead, there was a ridiculously large Onix population instead!

K. Masami stocked up, with the intention of evolving an Onix or two into Steelix with a Metal Coat.

Getting to the park is a bit of a journey taking about 90 minutes if you’re coming from Osaka or two hours from Kyoto. But if you’re looking to get away from the city for a day, enjoy some beautiful flower gardens, and load up on some Pokémon on the side, Umamikyuro Park is a great place to do just that!

Related: Umamikyuryo Park website
Images: Pokémon GO (screen captures by RocketNews24)

[ Read in Japanese ]