#pokemon centre

[kyndaris]

Sky Garden

After an exhausting day at Universal Studios Japan, bleachpanda and I kept up the momentum by using our last day in Osaka to visit several popular sites in and around the biggest city in the Kansai region. This meant paying a visit to Namba Yasaka shrine bright and early in the morning. Well, technically, it was after 9 AM but after the early start yesterday and the considerable step count bleachpanda and I accrued the day before, I thought it best to give my faithful companion a bit more of a break.

Namba Yasaka shrine is a Shinto shrine that's about a ten minute walk from Namba station. It's known for its very distinctive lion head-shaped buildings and by the time bleachpanda and I arrived, there was already a throng of tourists taking photos of the fierce lion head.

Bleachpanda and I didn't stay long, though. After taking a few snaps of the shrine and skimming through the charms on offer, we headed back to Namba station and took the Midosuji line up to Umeda again. However, unlike the day before, we would not be transferring to Universal City station. Rather, we headed out to the Umeda Sky Building, a two-tower mixed-use skyscaper that had its own observation deck, the Kuchu Teien Observatory.

But my, what a unique design!

The building was originally conceived in 1988 as the "City of Air" project, and was envisioned to have four interconnected towers. However, due to the Japan economic bubble of the 1980s, the plan was scuppered and only two towers were constructed - linked, still, by a sky deck. This sky desk was built on the ground and lifted up through the use of hydraulic elevators.

While one does wonder what Umeda Sky Building would have looked like if it still had four towers, the building we got was still an impressive spectacle.

Once bleachpanda and I reached the top, we were afforded a wide view of Osaka given the excellent weather. It was such a grand view, even bleachpanda was able to appreciate it although she was hankering to start shopping.

After coming down from the skyscraper, bleachpanda and I headed back to Osaka Station and Lucia 100 to visit the Disney Store there. What surprised me, as the two of us were looking at the merchandise, was bleachpanda actually buying a cute mini plushie of Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore. This was despite telling me she hated Disney.

Well, hate is too strong a word. Bleachpanda just never saw the appeal of Disney, especially when it came to the princesses. And true, much of the marketing is focused on fairy tale stories about a princesses finding their one true love BUT there's been a lot of experimental works as well! Look no further than Atlantis: The Lost Empire or Emperor's New Groove! Or, in this case, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

I, on the other hand, couldn't resist the very cute tsum tsums and even got persuaded to buy an Easter-themed Stitch doll! And I don't even typically buy plushies on the regular! But this was Disney, and even though there weren't many things in relation to Star Wars or Marvel, I was in heaven!

Heaven, too, might be too strong a word. I was disappointed a little by the selection available but given the Disney 100 pop-up stores in Australia didn't have many options, the Disney stores here in Japan were far superior and catered a little more to my tastes.

Once I shelled out far too much for Disney merchandise (which was then put into a Duty-Free bag I couldn't open and which also had far too much air in it), I slowly led bleachpanda to the Pokemon Center nearby.

Little did I know there was also a Nintendo Store, Capcom Store and Mugiwara store all nearby. Suffice it to say, many things were purchased before we managed to break free and head to Animate - a 12 minute walk away with several bags full of shopping.

Unfortunately, once we arrived, there was naught for bleachpanda to buy, although I did pick up quite a few goodies for my own personal use. Then it was a short trek to a second Disney store, with a short stop at a Sanrio store nearby (where bleachpanda spent about 9000 Yen on things she thought were cute) before we had a look at the Jump and Marvel store also located within the same department store.

By the end of the day, the two of us were laden down by shopping bags. Despite all the shopping we'd done, bleachpanda still wanted to check out the local Don Quijote at Dotonbori again where she bought several snacks and skincare products. And though we had hoped to ride the ferris wheel to look out over the canal and the many other shops, it was closed due to the large crowds in the area.

[myfavouritepokemoncentre]

If the pokemon games keep thanos'ing the national dex. We might end up being able to get every pokemon in plush form, before being able to get them in one of the games.

[this-is-emzy]

[thebraveasagi]

✨ Special Delivery Charizard

polite but firm reminder that if you got a code for Special Delivery Charizard you have only until the end of the month to make a 20 $ (before tax) / £20 (including tax) purchase and add the code !!

per the FAQ page :

- the promo code will expire December 31, 2022, at 11:59pm PDT.

- preorders and digital purchases do not count.

(and im sure folks know but registration is very very closed, this is only for people who already received a code)

[alexin-wonderlust]

Day 8 - Japan Blog - 14 February 2024 Yoyogi Park and Shinkansen to Nagoya (Valentines Day!)

Leaving Tokyo today and heading West to Kyoto but stopping in at Nagoya first (just for something a bit different!!).

We have a bit of time this morning to do some last minute advenure in Tokyo before we leave (and IM NEVER DONE WITH THIS CITY, there are so many things I didnt do!!) *tears!*

I wanted to take Ben to Yoyogi Park near Harajuku. But first, lets store the luggage at the station. Which was a pain, because most large sized lockers were already taken!! After managing to find somewhere to stash our suitcases, we headed to Beck for a coffee... (because I want to find my favourite coffee shop!!) and I didn’t rate it. The BLT was pretty good though! Coffee was sub-par. Ah well.

We were on a train that was actually themed with Pokemon and it was really cute!! We walked from Harajuku Station to the Meiji Shrine and back again. Lots of cute doggies, the weather was lovely and it's always nice to walk through a massive garden in the middle of a bustling city.

Then we made our way to the Shinkansen to travel to Nagoya. We didn’t have time to find EkiBen (train lunch boxes) even though it was on my bucket list — but we had some snacks and even found a Baskin Robbins vending machine which was really yum and not sweet, but tasted more like yoghurt.

I even got to see Mt Fuji on the train as we sped past. So majestic! When we got to Nagoya, we found our accommodation and it was a bit basic -- small, but thats expected. There was a craft beer pop up of one of my favourite animes; Evangelion. So I had to get them!! I wanted to go to the Pokemon Centre in Nagoya (just so I can tick another Pokemon centre off my list hehe) and we found ourself in another "underground food market" things.

I let Ben choose dinner and while we had a niku bbq place in mind… this Tonkatsu restaurant won the choice and I had a “setto” which came with the pork, a prawn and some pork coated asparagus.

After dinner it was cocktail time and then home to enjoy the fancy Valentine’s Day cakes we bought at the station. 🙃😍🍰

It’s Valentines Day so we went to three different bars (one was TGI Fridays so it doesn’t count but I wanted a cheap drink haha!); one called Scum, which was a metal bar and the other, I’m not sure of the name but it was the complete opposite (in the same building!!). Super fancy, and quiet with like, Jazz? I dunno. Ben was in some kind of mood -- I was not. LOL! The toilets were extravagant and had every type of convienence needed. Toothpicks, floss, ear picks, breath mints, tampons, you name it -- it was there. I had a Nikka Malt highball to finish the night off and thebartender gave us a jar of the olives he had for the martinis! So random!!

[kazuyo2wp]

びっくりしましたよ！でも、嬉しいなぁ～

ありがとう！😊😊😍😍

[ajpesworld]

Something quaint about Pokemon birthday celebrations ❤️

[prof-peach]

hey, just wondering if shiny pokemon need specific needs or to look out for certain things? I have a shiny phantump and i keep on thinking that the leaves are dying and i dont know what to do.

some do, some dont.

If the shiny in question is bred legally or was found in the wild, and had all its health checks, which every trainer owned mon should have had (ie. go to a centre and get them to look them over for genetic disorders that may cause issues long term, or that will need to be worked with) then you shouldnt have much to worry about.

Nurses and doctors at centres will pick up on any issues in the screening process. The 'shinies need more care' chatter people hear bout it based off badly bred individuals who came from mass produced litters that didnt have the best start, resources, or care. Sick parents lead to sick offspring more often than not, so we hear a lot of rumours being spread that shinies need like LOADS of special care, when more oftan than not theyre ordinary give or take. It is just a presence of a different protien in their skin and fur that causes the sparkle.

Health issues can occur regardless of course, but just get them checked. At low light levels green leaves are more efficient at photosynthesis, but at normal bright light levels, green and red show very minor, to no differences. Seeing as Phantump are somewhat nocternal and shade loving pokemon, but also can eat and pull energy off living things, i'd say you dont have anything to worry about. at the utter most you may need to increase their hours of light by 1-2 hours a day if they dont go out in the day. Not a huge deal, UV lamps will do this if you dont have a great deal of time outdoors too.

If they become lethargic or agitated, that tends to be a sign somethings up. Itching horns, weeping sap, leaves falling regulalry (not just one now and then), dry bark, cracks, overly translucent bodies, and excess sneezing are all good heads up that you should get them checked however.

[mypokemonscreencaps]

[kyndaris]

Three Trains and a Bus!

After eating breakfast at the hotel buffet (they actually changed up what was available!), bleachpanda and I grabbed our bags from the room, checked out, and headed to the JR station at Nagasaki to continue our journey across Japan. Our next stop? Hiroshima. The site of the very first atomic bomb against a civilian population.

However, as this was primarily a day of transit, bleachpanda and I spent most of our day traversing the hyper efficient high speed rail network Japan had on offer. Granted, we had to take three trains to get to our destination but Nagasaki, unfortunately, is one of those cities that requires the use of a relay station in order to head further east.

Still, we arrived at Hiroshima Station at 2:30 PM. Without dropping a beat, bleachpanda and I booked our reserved tickets for our trip to Osaka - mostly for ease of mind. Tickets in hand, we lugged our suitcases towards the nearest bus stop in order to reach our hotel: Hilton Hiroshima! Yes, you read that right. We stayed at the Hilton!

It's where President of the United States, Joe Biden, stayed at during the G7 Summit. While we didn't get his actual room, this fact was proudly displayed at the cafe downstairs with commemorative desserts to celebrate the occasion.

So, you know, bleachpanda and I were clearly very important people.

Once we finally got our room keycards (there was a slight delay to set up our rooms), bleachpanda and I dumped our bags inside our very spacious quarters before braving the rain (it almost always seems to rain on our transit days), to visit Hiroshima Pokemon Centre (and so I could also get in some steps because we'd be sitting for most of the day).

As we looked around the Pokemon Centre in Hiroshima, I pulled bleachpanda aside and told her she had better appreciate the lack of Pokemon fans flocking to the store as I'd heard that during the summer, it could be so packed with people a ticketing system is needed to limit numbers. Of course, given this was one of the very first stores that had my undivided attention, I couldn't help but splurge just a little while we were there, purchasing several plushies and souvenirs for a ton of my friends.

Of course, bleachpanda herself also spent quite a bit there as well, as she picked up gifts for family and friends.

Suffice it to say, bleachpanda was not impressed I'd dragged her all the way there just to have her spend more money. To make up for it, we enjoyed some Italian food at a restaurant on Level 10 (and checked out a few other stores therein though bleachpanda didn't end up buying anything there) before returning to the Hilton.

[spark-circuit]

................hold on a minute.

[myfavouritepokemoncentre]

He sit, He stare... he derp. BEHOLD Drilbur!

Ngl just found the reviews for him funny

[thatfailedpokemontrainer]

>Opens the fridge for midnight snack

>Him

[spittyfishy]

I love the Sun and Moon games with all my heart, all the characters and Pokémon and locations are so lovely I absolutely adore all of them!

[pkmnrangerfiles]

playdate :)

[thesilvercondor]

I've been frantically adding and removing Anabel from PokeMas teams. And it seems that she straight up has a unique voice line for Palmer of all people.

"This seems... familiar, somehow."

He doesn't have a unique line for her (afaik), so I'm guessing the two don't actually know eachother. And that Anabel is just remembering her old title of 'Tower Tycoon'?

Now I got brainworms that Anabel's gonna regain her memories via talking to Palmer and being like 'yeah i remember stuff about the battle tower. but slightly to the left. is he just lying to me about the details or am i hallucinating.', and then going on an investigation to figure out where these random pieces of knowledge are coming from. It isn't until he mentions the frontier's 'sister location in Hoenn' that things finally start to fall into place...