Pokemon Street Lights in Kyoto
Now I need to start by saying I haven’t ever played Pokemon Go but have friends that do and my husband even created an account to play a few times while we were in Japan.  But it was obvious from the moment we arrived in Tokyo that Pokemon Go was really popular.Â
In Tokyo, we stayed a short walk from Shinjuku Station. We found a Pokemon Go area just outside the station. We walked by this area a few times and people where there playing each time.
After some time in Tokyo, we headed to Kyoto. We arrived late in the afternoon, found our hotel and went out for a walk. Not far from our hotel we started to find Pokemon lights attached to the street lights.
So why are there Pokemon lights attached to the street lights? Well, in 2016 a new Pokemon Centre opened in Kyoto. Now I didn’t realise this while we were in Kyoto, so we didn’t get to the centre. Apparently, the street lights were installed to celebrate the opening of the centre.
I must admit, I had a few strange looks as I walked from light post to light post taking photos of each light. Â
Night time photos were taken with a Nikon Z7 with 35mm prime lens, hand held with no flash.
I really didn’t take much notice of the whole phenomenon for the rest of our trip, well that was until we arrived back at Narita Airport for our flight home. We couldn’t escape Pokemon there either.
Are you planning a trip to Japan? A day trip to Hiroshima is a must.
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Amanda
Oh this is amazing! I’m going to Japan next year, will definitely check this out!
Lisa
AmandaWhile I’m not into Pokemon, they are pretty cool Amanda.
Tania Muthusamy
I can’t believe the Pokemon craze there. The characters are cute. My son used to love it.
Lisa
Tania MuthusamyIt’s definitely a huge phenomenon. We saw some people with two and three mobile phones playing.
Fiona mai
Pokemon Go was super popular in my country some time ago, too. While I can never understand people who are addicted to this game, I must admit that those Pokemon street lights look kinda cute.
Lisa
Fiona maiI’m so much like you Fiona, just couldn’t understand playing the game but I loved the lights.
Emma
How much fun is this? I don’t really know much about pokemon but it’s certainly unique to have these lights. I’d be taking pictures too!
Lisa
EmmaGlad I’m not the only one Emma lol.
Navigation Junkie
That’s awesome! I will admit I played pokemon Go briefly when it was released, a little bit of nostalgia. My daughter would absolutely love this! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa
Navigation JunkieIt was a bit of fun to find the lights and hubby had some fun playing the game a bit while we were there. A bit of nostalgia is always good!
Elsa
It’s pokemon everywhere..i hope you enjoyed every minute of it.
Lisa
ElsaDefinitely everywhere Elsa. It was fun though.
Justine jenkins
This is so cool! I’m a big fan of Pokemon (and Pokemon Go) and Japan is such a bucket list destination for myself and my husband. But I had no idea about these Pokemon lights – how cool! We will definitely be on the lookout for them when we visit ourselves 🙂
Lisa
Justine jenkinsThey are definitely fun to see Justine. Japan is beautiful.
Mona
I love learning about the quirky things about Japan. Truly such a unique place
Lisa
MonaIt definitely has some unique things Mona.
Patti Morrow
Haha! That is so quirky! It’s so much fun to find unexpected sights in other countries!
Lisa
Patti MorrowThe quirky things were one of the reasons we love Japan so much Patti. It’s so much fun.
Josefine
Japan is so unique! I can’t believe they have Pokemon street lights. Another great reason to go visit! 😀
Lisa
JosefineSo random and so much fun Josefine.
Jen
This is so cool! I‘ll be visiting Tokyo this year, I can’t wait!
Lisa
JenIf you get to Kyoto, they are definitely worth checking out!