Pokémon Center in Japan: everything you need to know!

It's true that the Pokémon Center is a kind of sacred place for every collector and fan of the Pokémon license: there are many in Japan, some have appeared in other countries around the world, but France has only had pop-up stores so far.

Today we'll explain everything about the Pokémon Center in Japan: how it works, the exclusives, how many there are, where they are... and hopefully put stars in your eyes by teaching you all about it.

Important point first: telling Pokémon apart from The Pokémon Company

Pokémon is a hugely successful license: it is the world's number one brand in terms of merchandise distribution. The license was born in 1995, but The Pokémon Company was only founded on April 23, 1998.

We'll save the history of the license for another blog post, but the anime series and everything around it at the time was becoming so influential and growing so fast that creating a separate company was inevitable to keep it all going.

To put it simply: Pokémon is the license itself, and The Pokémon Company is an initiative of Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures created to manage all the stores and merchandise. The art direction of the anime belongs to Pokémon, but the art direction for designing Pokémon cards and plushies, for example, belongs to The Pokémon Company.

So that's the quick note on that — it'll keep you from getting mixed up later :) Let's get to the heart of the matter!

First of all, what is the Pokémon Center?

It's the name given to stores exclusively dedicated to Pokémon merchandise : you'll find cards, plushies, food, clothes, figures... basically anything you can think of: Pokémon has surely already made it and sold it in the Pokémon Centers.

You'll find a team of usually young sales staff, smiling from ear to ear and playing a cute little role to reflect the license's childlike image.

Sometimes it comes with several other shops, like the Pokémon Café, Pokémon Bakery, TCG areas, and more. If you've been to Japan, you know what we're talking about: it's MUCH bigger than anything you could imagine about our favorite little monsters.

Today there are many stores around the world, most of them in Japan, including 5 in Tokyo.

What makes the Pokémon Center special?

Of course, you know Pokémon: they do things big, and the stores are no exception! Each one is unique and has features you wouldn't even suspect.

They have their own mascot

Each store has certain Pokémon representing it: you often find Pikachu but also other creatures linked to the surroundings and the location of the Pokémon Center. Here are a few examples:

• In Kyoto, a traditional Japanese city and one of the former capitals, you'll find Ho-Oh, flagship Pokémon of the Johto region, which is based on... Kyoto

• In the Sky Tree, one of Tokyo's tallest buildings, Rayquaza is of course the star

• In Shibuya, you'll find Mew and Mewtwo with a futuristic look, in a "street" and "graffiti" style

• In Hiroshima, the famous Red Gyarados (Shiny Gyarados) represents the store

The store's theme is sometimes surprising

At the Shibuya Pokémon Center, located in the big Parco building, the theme is based on graffiti andstreet art. That's why it looks so different from the others, with neon lights everywhere and a graffiti Pikachu plush available only there.

Over in Tohoku (Sendai), there's an iconic Pokémon Center: it opened in December 2011, after the huge earthquake and devastating tsunami that hit the city. Yes, Pokémon also supports noble causes: it was created to give children a place full of joy, where they could escape the devastation of their city.

Its mascot is Victini, the Victory Pokémon, representing the triumph of the Japanese people over this natural disaster, coming back stronger than before and rebuilding the city with a smile.

Unique products are distributed

When each store opens, there's a promotional Pokémon card based on the city's Pokémon Center: Shibuya Pikachu, Kanazawa Pikachu, Kyoto Pikachu... it's only handed out during the first days after opening.

There are also products you'll only find in certain stores: the Kanazawa Box is only at the center of the same name, the Graffiti Pikachu plush only in Shibuya, and so on.

These products are usually highly prized and collectors love them: they're a safe bet for anyone who wants to keep products that will very likely gain value in the years to come!

What products can you find at the Pokémon Center?

To be honest, if you can imagine any kind of merchandise, Pokémon has probably already made it. Although some stores have their own exclusives , they're often organized like this:

Pokémon plushies

As soon as you step into a Pokémon Center, you see entire walls of plushies. There's something for every taste, size and budget. For example, Pokémon Fit are small plushies a few centimeters tall that everyone can afford, but you can also find a 50 cm long Charizard !

Pokémon card area

Of course, what would the license be without its famous cards: every Pokémon Center has a larger or smaller area with all the collectible merchandise including binders, card sleeves, decks and Pokémon boosters.

Note that you never see displays in the store! You can get them by asking at the checkout, though: time to brush up on your Japanese to earn them!

Otherwise, you can also get cards from us, as we export them from Japan for you: head to the Pokémon Display section of the site!

Pokémon snacks

Yes, there are snacks and candy too: you can buy Squirtle-shaped cakes, Magikarp-themed snacks or gummy candies with the first-generation starters. But you already know that — we sometimes slip some into our parcels... :)

Pokémon stationery

It's a place dedicated to children above all: many come here for their back-to-school shopping! You'll find pencils, books, notebooks... there's enough to fill a whole school bag with merchandise bought at the Pokémon Center!

Pokémon clothes and accessories

The last major section is everything merch: school bags, backpacks, hoodies, T-shirts, earrings, necklaces... And at a fairly affordable price! Most products like these are heavily taxed between Japan and their arrival in Europe: here, a T-shirt costs less than €20!

And everything you can imagine

It would take too long to list the tens of thousands of products available at the Pokémon Center:

• Figures

• Mugs

• Chopsticks

• Toys

• ...

The best thing is to go and see it all with your own eyes!

Are there collaborations with the Pokémon Center?

Contrary to what you might expect from Nintendo and Pokémon, known for keeping their universe to themselves, yes, there are very regular collaborations between them and artists or brands! They're usually only available at the Pokémon Center and not in the small franchised stores.

We've seen several collaborations with Anna Sui, a fashion designer from the United States, offering fashion merchandise such as earrings.

She's not the only artist: many painters and personalities from Japan also get dedicated collections within the license for a limited time.

Brands are getting a taste for it too, like Levi's which recently released a clothing collaboration with Pokémon!

Are there purchase limits at the Pokémon Center?

Yes: they often apply to Pokémon cards and related merchandise. Recently, Pokémon found itself in a small controversy because of the Eevee Heroes set released on May 28.

Some people used bots to buy all the stock available for pre-order. Result: the site crashed and nobody could get any except a handful of lucky ones. The license was heavily criticized on Twitter and had to cancel many dubious orders.

Now, products in such high demand are sold by lottery— what a shame it came to that.

Otherwise, most displays are limited to 2 to 5 per purchase, and products like decks and boxes to 1 or 2 per person. If you want more, you have to turn to independent stores that resell Pokémon products.

Where are the Pokémon Centers?

There are many in Japan and also in the rest of the world if you count the websites. A little list to keep in mind, because we know you: if you come, you'll want to visit them all!

Pokémon Center in Japan

There are 5 in Tokyo, 7 if you include those in Yokohama and Funabashi, which are in Greater Tokyo (the Kanto region). There are a total of 13 stores in Japan alone !

• Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo, opened on December 12, 2014 in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro. It's a rebuild of the first Pokémon Center opened in Japan, in Nihonbashi!

• Pokémon Center Osaka, the second oldest, opened on November 14, 1998 but moved in 2010 to its current location, the Daimaru Umeda Building.

• Pokémon Center Nagoya, opened on November 1, 2003, which you'll find in the Hakata station building (JR Line)

• Pokémon Center Yokohama: after several moves since its opening on March 5, 2005, it's in the Marui City shopping mall.

• Pokémon Center Sapporo, opened on July 1, 2005, located in the Daimaru Building.

• Pokémon Center Tohoku, which, as mentioned above, opened as a memorable place after the 2011 earthquake, opened on December 4 of the same year.

• Pokémon Center Tokyo Bay, opened on November 22, 2013 in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture

• Pokémon Center Hiroshima, which opened on June 25, 2015 in the Sogo shopping mall.

• Pokémon Center Kyoto, dating from March 16, 2016 but moved on March 16, 2019 to the Suina Muromachi shopping mall.

• Pokémon Center Sky Tree Town, opened on July 6, 2016 but moved on January 1, 2017 to a different floor of the Sky Tree tower

• Pokémon Center Tokyo DX + Café, the first permanent Pokémon café, which opened on March 14, 2018 in Nihonbashi.

• Pokémon Center Osaka DX + Café, in the Daimaru store, dating from September 20, 2019

• Pokémon Center Shibuya, currently the most recent, in Parco since its opening on November 22, 2019.

Pokémon Stores

These are smaller stores, official Pokémon shops that don't hold the Pokémon Center title. They're still worth a visit, although the selection is smaller. You'll find them here:

• New Chitose Airport

• Inside Tokyo Station

• Narita Airport

• In the city of Gotemba

• Chubu Airport

• Itami Airport

• Kansai Airport

• Aeon Mall Okayama

• Emifull Masaki shopping mall, Ehime

• AmuPlaza in Oita

• AmuPlaza in Kagoshima

• Ryubo shopping mall in Okinawa

• Aeon Mall Okinawa

Is there a Pokémon Center in France?

Unfortunately, there is no Pokémon Center in France. As in London, there was a pop-up store in Paris from June 4 to 21, 2014 with a very limited range of products. Maybe one day a real Pokémon Center will open its doors in France, who knows!

Can you order products from the Japanese Pokémon Center website?

No, because to order on the Japanese site, you need an address in Japan: it only delivers there! That's why small sites like ours exist: we act as the go-between with our address and yours.

There are also sites for the USA and South Korea, but they only deliver within their own countries. A French site exists, but it doesn't offer Pokémon products.

Where can you find Pokémon Center products?

Luckily for you, there's an alternative: us! A small team of Pokémon enthusiasts who have been based in Tokyo for several years now. We buy all our products from the Pokémon Center, mostly everything related to Pokémon cards.

Be very careful: many sites sell counterfeits. Always look for reviews online and check trusted review sites such as Trustpilot before making a purchase.

Anyway, we hope you enjoyed this little article — leave a comment if you have any questions, we'll answer! In the meantime, take a look at our store, with all the products currently available in Japan in terms of Pokémon cards and TCG merchandise.