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It’s the birthplace of Otsuka Pharmaceutical, maker of Pocari Sweat among others.

As an island, Kyushu naturally has a lot of nautical connections. This seems to reference one of the most famous tales in Japanese mythology, where the sun goddess Amaterasu hides in the Ame-no-Iwato cave, causing sunlight to disappear from the world.

But Pokemon’s creator, Satoshi Tajiri, based the design of Pallet Town on his own hometown of …

Fuji. Kanto’s other major mountain, the meteorite-filled Mt. When we think of Johto, though, we think of its towers, all of which take inspiration from real-world Kansai architecture. While sending children alone on a Pokémon journey is a normal part of life in the Pokémon world, many mothers remain understandably hesitant at letting their children grow up. Silver and the Pokemon League, references real-life Hakone Town.

If Violet City is Nara, then Ecruteak City really leans into its role as Kyoto, right down to the traditional-sounding music. The beloved fire-type starter can prove hard to capture in the wild. It’s also home to a market filled with goods from far-off lands, a reference to Nagasaki’s history as a trading port with the outside world even during Japan’s Sakoku isolation period.

Like other players, she's availed herself to catching 400 candies' worth of the low-powered Pokémon to obtain a much stronger Gyarados. As we said, Game Freak weren’t exactly being subtle about the inspiration for their first region. Like Kanto, Johto extends a little farther than its real-life region, into the Chubu region and down to the edge of Shikoku. In Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, Ash and Pikachu journey to a seaside city filled with a delightful cast of characters, including a young athlete, a compulsive liar, a shy researcher, a bitter old woman, and a little girl with a big secret. Slateport City, too, is a thriving port town with a large shipyard, just like real-life Nagasaki. Before then, one of the main towns was called Ryuo (竜王), literally ‘Dragon King.’. Cinnabar Island, like its real-life counterpart Izu Oshima, is home to an active volcano, called Mt.

The anime follows the Pokémon journey of Ash Ketchum, who started off with his first Pokémon, a Pikachu, in the first episode, and continues to journey across the world in order to compete in each of the regional Pokémon League competitions. This experience fed into the eventual creation of Pokemon itself. The Lake of Rage stands in for Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa, though you’re unlikely to find a red Gyarados there in real-life. The latter is home to the Iwajuku archaeological site, which provided new evidence of the earliest human settlements in Japan. Saffron City mirrors Marunouchi (around Tokyo Station) as Kanto’s central business district, home to many of its largest companies. They’re reflected in some of Hoenn’s major cities, too. Coronet dominates the center of the mainland, just like the Ezo Mountain chain in central Hokkaido. Real-life Hokkaido only really became part of Japan in the 18th century, and maintains a distinct cultural identity.

Let’s find out! Located near Ecruteak, Goldenrod City stands in for Osaka as the biggest metropolitan area in the region.

Fuji, too! Erika’s garden-like grass-type gym also fits as a version of parks like Shinjuku Gyoen.

Closing out Johto we need to head to the coast. At the park, Goh comes across a Cubone being bullied by a group of Mankey. In fact, all the main games and many of the spin-offs were based on regions of Japan until Black and White bucked the trend with a New York-inspired setting. Mirage Island only appears very rarely in Hoenn’s seas.

Chimney. The Pewter Museum of Science may be inspired by the Iwajuku museum. The other reference is the Aokigahara forest on the northwestern foothills of Mt. Or check out our favorite onsen in this classic hot-spring region. Goh is still an inexperienced trainer, though. Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum has a new plan: see the world! Moon, is inspired by Gunma’s Mt. Like Kansai, Johto is a region filled with traditional architecture and culture. Heading out to the smaller islands to the east, you’ll come across Mossdeep City, based on the island of Tanegashima.

Forty-two million visitors walk through New York City's historic landmark annually. Fuji, and the Japanese Alps), Pokemon Kanto and Johto bump right up against each other. In-game, Violet City is called “the city of nostalgic scents,” which links it with Nara. Pallet Town, where our journey starts, references two real-life cities. A bunch of players got excited when Charmander appeared on the map. Starting a Pokémon journey is considered a rite of passage for children, and Ash has followed in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. Pokémon Trainers may choose to journey alone or with friends and people they meet along the way.

In fact, every region in every main Pokemon game has a real-world basis. Press Esc to cancel. Goldenrod City and Saffron City in Kanto are linked by the Magnet Train. It is at this point that a Pokémon Professor can give them a starter Pokémon native to their own region, though many people befriend or are given other Pokémon prior to being legally able to be Trainers.

As you can see, Game Freak took more than a little inspiration from the real world when putting together the settings for their games.

In Japanese, Viridian City is named Tokiwa City, after tokiwa-iro, the color of evergreen trees which cover the sprawling Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Tree-lined Viridian City, near the mountains containing Mt. This connection was strengthened in the remakes, where the Pokemon League building is modeled after the famous Shuri Castle. The start of the game keeps us close to the mountains, with New Bark Town standing in for Shizuoka City and Hamamatsu, and Cherrygrove City for Aichi Prefecture’s Toyohashi and Nagoya. Discover and book amazing travel experiences in Japan and beyond! In particular, he imagined Hoenn as a place where “Pokemon and humans get along well.”. More importantly, Pokemon’s Kanto region stretches a little further west and into the central Japanese region of Chubu, which includes Shizuoka Prefecture, home to Mt Fuji (Mt. Snowpoint Temple just outside the city might be a reference to Hokumon Jinja Shrine, one of the city’s main religious sites. We all live in a Pokémon world, as long as the servers stay connected.

In fact, you can visit Hakone as a day trip from Tokyo, with gorgeous views of Mt. Hoenn brings us even further south to Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island. A Pokémon journey is a quest undertaken by a Pokémon Trainer to learn to live and work with Pokémon. Cerulean City, home to the water-type gym, is inspired by Tsuchiura in Ibaraki Prefecture, famous for its water lotus blooms. And which locations are those?

As well as being home to a split island, the Naruto Strait between Awajishima and Shikoku is known for its near-constant whirlpools. Our final Japan-inspired region takes us to the far north of the country, Hokkaido. Here’s Everything You Need To Know, Discover Japanese Temples and Shrines in Our First-Ever Live Cast, Japan Through Your Screen: Virtual Experiences and Tours to Try At Home (Updated June 2020), 5 Super-Simple Japanese Cocktails For Happy Hour at Home, Love Japanese Food? Still, we met some new people and caught some new Pokémon among some of the prettiest sites the city has, so it was a win-win for us. Others journey in order to learn about and be proficient about certain types of Pokémon while some may choose to journey to pursue certain occupations like Pokémon breeding, Pokémon watching, and Pokémon styling. Geographically, it matches Shimoda, a city near the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula.

Johto’s Cianwood City is home to an ancient pharmacy in reference.

Mahogany Town lies to the south of the Lake of Rage, and is placed similarly to Koka City in Shiga Prefecture.

But first, he and his partner Pikachu are headed to the opening of the Cerise Laboratory, a research facility dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of Pokémon in every region.

All these are easy to appreciate in person, too. Mandy even views an adult on a Pokémon journey as somewhat immature, preferring that they settle down instead.

It also includes the islands of Okinawa. Goh's main focus on his journey is catching every Pokémon, but lately Ash's matches have inspired him to train his own Pokémon to be stronger, too. Ash, ready to go on a new journey. For one, the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line expressway is cars-only and situated much further into Tokyo Bay, while it’s Pokemon counterpart, the Cycling Road, stretches right across the mouth of the bay. He is joined by his friends along the way, each with their own goals.

Meowth stopped by during a quick pit stop in the shade. Other Trainers instead choose to become Coordinators, gathering Ribbons by competing in Pokémon Contests with the goal of winning the Grand Festival to become a Top Coordinator. Goh still … Pastoria City mirrors Kushiro, and both are surrounded by large marshlands. A few spots make it out of Hokkaido and into (depending on who’s asking) Russia. Silver). Sometimes children younger than 10 have been shown to have Pokémon in their possession, notably Iris who had a Drilbur at a young age. The smaller Floaroma Town also has a real-world equivalent in Biei and Furano. Biei and Furano remain some of Hokkaido’s most popular destinations, too, with fields full of brightly colored blooms every spring and summer.