Path through the forest of wild Pokémon could strain some visitors’ legs, ticket cost might be hard on their hearts.
Pokémon fans have been buzzing with excitement following the surprise announcement earlier this week that Poképark Kanto, the brand-new Pokémon area coming to Tokyo theme park Yomiuriland, has moved up its grand opening from the originally slated “spring 2026” to February 5. Before you toss an entry into the lottery for the first batch of ticket purchase rights, though, you might want to check your wallet, and also the physical fitness levels and ages of anyone you’re traveling with.
Starting with the fitness aspect, Poképark Kanto is composed of two sections. There’s Sedge Town, with rides, stage shows, and souvenir shops, and the Pokémon Forest. The idea is to give guests a taste of both aspects of the Pokémon Trainer journey, procuring supplies and experiencing events in town, and encountering wild Pokémon while wandering through the undeveloped parts of the world.
In pursuit of that immersion, the Pokémon Forest is an approximately 500-meter (1,640-foot) long nature trail with grassy sections and tunnels to pass through, and also some pronounced elevation changes. Because of that, the Poképark Kanto admission policy says that anyone entering the Pokémon Forest must be able to climb a stairway of 110 steps, and those unable to do so will be denied admission to the woods. Children under five years old are also barred from the Pokémon Forest, for safety reasons.
The park’s policy states that the age and physical fitness requirements will not be waived even if a parent or caregiver is in accompaniment, and this might be the reason why there are going to be three different types of Poképark Kanto tickets, one of which has a reduced price but only lets you into Sedge town.
Speaking of tickets, we already knew that Poképark Kanto tickets are functionally a supplemental fee tacked on to a Yomiuriland ticket, as every type of Poképark Kanto ticket also admits you to the rest of Yomiuriland too. Because of that, it was a given that Poképark Kanto tickets were going to be more expensive than Yomiuriland tickets. What was less expected is just how much more they’re going to cost. Here’s how much one-day, all-you-can-ride tickets to Yomiuriland (i..e. not including Poképark Kanto) cost.
● Adults (aged 18-64): 5,900 yen (US$39)
● Children aged 12-17: 4,700 yen
● Children aged 6-11, seniors (aged 65 and up): 4,100 yen
● Children aged 3-5: 2,500 yen
Initially, there are going to be two classes of Poképark Kanto tickets, both of which grant access to both the Pokémon Forest and Sedge Town sections. Prices for the less expensive ticket class, the Trainer Pass, are listed on the Poképark Kanto website as:
● Adults (aged 13 and up): starting at 7,900 yen
● Children (aged 3-12): starting at 4,700 yen
● Seniors (aged 65 and up): starting at 7,1000 yen
While that works out to only a minor additional cost for kids between the ages of 6 to 11, and none at all for 12-year-olds, it’s a pretty steep increase for everyone else, especially teenagers between 13 and 17, whose Poképark Kanto passes will cost them 3,200 yen more than the normal Yomiuriland ticket, a 68-percent increase if they want to go into the Pokémon zone.
The price increases get even more startling for the Ace Trainer Pass, also called the “Elite Trainer Pass” in Japanese, which grants priority line access for attractions in Sedge Town, free rides on its rides (regular Trainer Pass holders have to pay extra to ride), and a photo opportunity with Pikachu and Eevee, and special souvenirs. Prices for the Ace Trainer Pass are:
● Adults (aged 13 and up): starting at 14,000 yen
● Children (aged 3-12): starting at 11,000 yen
● Seniors (aged 65 and up): starting at 13,500 yen
Those are more than double the prices of regular Yomiuriland tickets, and in the case of seniors, more than three times as much. Sure, the souvenirs that come with the Ace Trainer Pass are probably pretty sweet, but are they “Let’s pay over 10,000 yen a person”-level sweet?
Things thankfully settle back down with the Town Pass, which is expected to go on sale sometime this summer. The Town Pass only lets holders into the Sedge Town area and lacks the special privileges of the Ace Trainer Pass, but it’s a lot cheaper. In fact, for some ages the price listed on the Poképark Kanto for Town Passes is actually lower than the current price for Yomiuriland tickets, though this may be a misprint or a sign that Yomiuriland tickets are going to be discounted before the Town Pass becomes available.
● Adults (aged 13 and up): starting at 4,700 yen
● Children (aged 3-12): starting at 2,800 yen
● Seniors (aged 65 and up): starting at 4,200 yen
It’s also telling that the Poképark Kanto website is showing its ticket price as “starting at” the specified price points, which seems to imply that while we won’t be seeing ticket prices below those marks, higher ticket prices, say for weekends, holidays, and peak travel seasons, are something Pokémon fans might need to brace for.
All that said, it’s likely Poképark Kanto will have no trouble selling out of tickets from its first purchase rights lottery, which will be accepting applications between November 21 and December 8. The real test will come once the initial hype dies down and prospective visitors start asking whether Poképark Kanto is really worth the price of admission.
Related: Poképark Kanto official website
Source: Poképark Kanto, PR Times (1, 2) via Oricon News via Hachima Kiko, Yomiuriland
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times (1, 2)
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