What else was at Pokémon Go Fest Tokyo this year?

Hello! Quick note from the editor before we begin. Go Fest Tokyo, Chicago and Copenhagen might be over, but there's a little more in-person Pokémon Go Fest coverage coming to the site in the weeks ahead. First up, for subscribers, Jordan and Sarah share more of their Go Fest Tokyo experience beyond playing the game itself

The chatter surrounding Pokémon Go Fest events naturally focuses on in-game exclusivity. New raids and rare Pokémon, boosted shiny rates, and legendary encounters are the talk of the community in the run-up to game day - and plans are made to make the most of your allotted time slot. But this does a disservice to the production designers who work behind the scenes to transform suburbs around the world into bite-sized Pokémon theme parks, complete with physical installations, live performances and designated zones that provide opportunities to connect with other players.

Even if we did find ourselves focused on Zeraora and Mega Mewtwo at Go Fest Tokyo, there was actually a lot more going on outside the game that helped make the day feel both memorable and wholesome as we trekked through each zone and prepared for the Unity Raids. Here are the experiences that stood out to us most, along with some of the smaller interactive moments that helped ground us when we weren’t lobbing Great Balls at everything in proximity.

Pikachu Ondo at Go Fest

The event's Odaiba Waterfront was split into four areas for the long weekend: the Recruitment Zone, the Conservatory Zone, the Cultivation Zone, and the Team Go Rocket Hideout. While these areas primarily helped keep Trainers separated during the Unity Raid, they also served as backdrops for themed activities. 

The best in-person experience we stumbled onto was the Pikachu Ondo in Go Fest. During the first half of our day, we wandered from the forest-based Recruitment Zone to the Team Go Rocket Hideout, which was situated in a massive car park and dominated by a Yagura tower with a Poké Ball at its peak. Yagura towers are bandstands associated with the Japanese cultural festival of Obon, where participants honour their ancestors by donning traditional garb and dancing to folk songs.