When you think about things you’d really like to do in Japan, what do you think of?
Wearing a kimono? Using chopsticks? Using chopsticks while wearing a kimono? Squishing into a packed train? Eating sushi so fresh it could move?
There are so many things to see, do and enjoy. I wanted to do this:
Yeah, there I am posing with a giant inflatable Pikachu. Isn’t that a universal life goal?
(The title of this post, ‘Get da ze’, is Japan’s alternative to ‘Gotta catch ’em all’. I guess the Japanese one came first…)
I’d deliberately paid a visit to Osaka’s Pokemon Expo Gym to get my picture taken with the massive electric mouse. There was a Pikachu waiting on top of the building, but I doubt they let people up there for photo opportunities.
Yeah, that’s a little high. You’d need [insert the name of any decently-sized winged Pokemon here] to get up there.
And that isn’t a mistake, I genuinely can’t remember half their names. How many Pokemon are there now? 600? More than? That’s way too many now. I think I prefer the original 151. Look at me, old enough to remember the original Red and Blue on the GameBoy. It’s like if Baskin Robbins decided to aim for 31,000 instead. Too much choice means you never choose anything.
An Expo Gym is different to your average PokeShop. It’s still got a PokeShop with expensive keyrings, but there’s even more to see! You get to pay over the odds to play little Pokemon minigames and win… nothing, as far as I can tell.
Funnily enough, that didn’t appeal. I’d done my couple shot with Pikachu and now I’m set for life.
