Tokyo Gourmet Zone in Tokyo Station's First Avenue shopping complex turned 1 year old on June 28. To celebrate its 1st anniversary, the station's Pokémon Store located along Tokyo Character Street is teaming up with Tokyo Gourmet Zone to host a Pokémon-themed event where you can meet Pikachu, get your hands on original merchandise, and more. From July 13th to 15th at 11:00-15:00, if you order a soft drink or dessert at participating restaurants in Tokyo Gourmet Zone you can receive the above-pictured 1st anniversary lunch mat with a Pikachu design. These are limited to 1,000 per day on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also get a photo with Pikachu on the same three days. Your photo will be printed with an original photo frame. Over at the photo spot, you can get your photo taken next to 278 Pokémon plush toys. This is running right now until September 1 and includes Pokémon No. 001-251 in the Pokédex and all 28 forms of Unown. Several restaurants at Tokyo Gourmet Zone are also serving special meals in celebration of the 1st anniversary. These are available now until July 31.   Head to Tokyo Gourmet Zone and help Pikachu in celebrating their first year!   ©2019 Pokemon. ©1995-2019 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.Pokémon, ポケットモンスター and ポケモン are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures and Game Freak.

Lake Sagami Pleasure Forest is set to host an event from July 6 in collaboration with the upcoming animated film Pokémon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution which will release on July 12.   The event will be set in the world of the film and guests will be challenged to Mewtwo's trials while befriending other Pokémon in the event to locate Mewtwo. Players will take on the role of Pokémon Trainers and set out on an adventure with the other Pokémon. Those who clear the trial will receive a Pokémon Adventure original postcard as proof that they are the strongest. Participants can also get a photograph together with Pikachu.   ©Nintendo・Creatures・GAME FREAK・TV Tokyo・ShoPro・JR Kikaku　©Pokémon　©2019 Pikachu Project

The Pokémon Cafe in Nihonbashi, Tokyo has revealed that it will serve up Lugia and Ho-Oh inspired dishes from July 20 to September 6. The two Legendary Pokémon feature in the Pokémon Gold & Silver video game released for the GameBoy in 1991.

Lugia & Whirl Islands Shaved Ice Dessert Plate: ¥1,922 (Tax Included)

If you're a Pokémon Silver fan you can expect to enjoy this Lugia cake which comes served with lemon flavoured shaved ice which has been made to look like the Whirl Islands where Lugia resides.

Ho-Oh & Rainbow Wing Ice Cream Dessert Plate: ¥1,922 (Tax Included)

Those who owned Pokémon Gold will be throwing their Poké Balls at the Ho-Oh cake and ice cream that looks like the Rainbow Wing, a legendary artifact associated with Ho-Oh.   © 2019 Pokémon.©1995-2019 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.

After having been closed since August 7, 2016 for renovations, it has been revealed that the new Shibuya PARCO shopping complex is set to open in late November. The new building aims to be a “global shopping complex for a new generation.”  Building on the complex’s facilities, Shibuya PARCO’s will communicate new forms of entertainment and experience together with designers and artists. Its goal is to deliver cultural trends on a global level. To do this, it is further developing aspects of the building to drive its unique perspective by focusing on the design, art and entertainment side of things.   Around 180 unique stores will open their doors in the new Shibuya PARCO each of which pivot around 5 different themes: Fashion, Art & Culture, Entertainment, Food, and Technology. Multiple floors are being specially designed to form the interior of the complex so that they draw out the appeal of each of these individual genres.   Today, we will take a look at two of these themes: Fashion and Art & Culture.   On the Fashion floor, customers can expect to slalom between up to 100 stores shelved with a plethora of styles representative of Tokyo’s melting pot of cultures, from luxury to mode, street, casual, vintage and more. The Fashion floor is bolstering its range of new generation fashion designers and brands and will have new points of sale that aim in the promotion of their names. For example, the art direction for the shop naming and logo of GEYSER PARCO on the third floor was created by YAR, a creative team spearheaded by YOSHIROTTEN.   The floor won’t just take into account the purchasing of clothing either―it will also cater clothes that have already been bought. There will even be an environmentally-friendly cleaning service for those fashionistas treasure their threads as well as repairs for a variety of clothes carried about by specialists and more, giving customers an incentive to make frequent use of Shibuya PARCO. In the Art & Culture department, Shibuya PARCO will offer the PARCO MUSEUM which will exhibit a line-up of unprecedented artwork focused on art, design and fashion, al built uniquely from the ground up.   The museum’s logo was created by design group TOMATO while the interior décor was co-developed by two Japanese interior designers. GALLERY X, originally located at Spain-Zaka in Shibuya, is moving to Shibuya PARCO’s B1F floor. The PARCO staff have curated an edgy assortment of art pieces from multiple art fields spanning anime, games and music.   A gallery-style shop is also opening to allow visitors to come into contact with a myriad of cultures. Names include OIL by Bijutsu Techo who will promote contemporary art and who are appearing inside a shop for the first time, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun who will have their own ‘cultural information desk’ Hobo Nichi Karu-chan to communicate Tokyo culture, and more.    The sixth floor is the ‘Japan Culture’ zone where there will be Nintendo Tokyo, Pokémon Center Shibuya, a Touken Ranbu bookshop, and plenty of other Japanese pop culture content. It is an amalgamation of games, anime, E-sports, art, fashion and more where visitors can not only buy things but experience pop culture with all five of their senses. This is sure to be a hit with foreign visitors.   In the next article we will take a look at Entertainment, Food and Technology so stay tuned.

CASETiFY is a global lifestyle brand established in LA that has enjoyed hugely popularity with celebrities and influences around the world for their services that enable you to customise your digital devices from smartphones to Apple Watches and more.   The company launched its "Day & Night" themed collaboration with Pokémon back in May. The second collection in the line has finally been unveiled which will be released on July 10 at 10:00pm (JST). It features iPhone cases, Samsung smartphone cases, mobile accessories and more with designs based on the 151 Pokémon of the Kanto region. Popular items from the first collection are also being re-released on the official CASETiFY website. On the website you can choose from a variety of different items including CASETiFY's signature Impact case, Neon Sand case, DTLA case and more as well cases for your AirPods.   The collaboration, which will feature one final collection after this, is part of CASETiFY co-lab, a creative program which collaborates with top brands and artists around the world. The collection will be available to purchase at the newly-opened CASETiFY flagship store in Hong Kong, as well as pop up shops in LANDMARK Hong Kong, Los Angeles, London and Paris.   ©2019 Pokémon. ©1995-2019 Nintendo/Creatures Inc. /GAME FREAK inc.

A new official Pokémon Centre DX and a new Pokémon Café will open in Osaka on September 20, 2019 in Daimaru Shinsaibashi's Main Building.   This will be the second Pokémon Centre to open in Osaka. The Pokémon café will adjoined to the shop and will be the first ever branch of the Pokémon café to have ever opened in West Japan. This is also the second permanent Pokémon café to open in Japan besides the Pokémon café in Nihombashi.The new Pokémon Centre DX and Pokémon Café will be situated in a bustling tourist hotspot. On your visit, you can also take a gander around the Shinsaibashi shopping district or  the American Village (America-mura) which is full of entertainment. This area is thriving with department stores, special shops, big brands and so much more. Tourists from other parts of Japan and all over the world are constantly flocking to this giant marketplace. As the worldwide exhibition event Expo 2025 will be held in Konohana Ward, Osaka, there is no doubt that Osaka is becoming more and more of a Tourist hotspot!   Osaka is a wonderful tourist destination. If you decide to visit, don't forget to include the Pokémon Centre DX and Pokémon Café on your itinerary!♪   ©2019 Pokémon ©1995-2019 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.Pocket Monsters, ポケットモンスター/ポケモン/Pokémon are registered trademarks of Nintendo/ Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.