The Pokémon Company helps rebuild infrastructure on Noto Peninsula in Japan after 2024 earthquake; Pokémon-themed airport to begin operation in July

The Pokémon Company’s disaster relief program, Pokémon With You, has announced two construction projects in an effort to revitalize Noto Peninsula, after the area suffered a major earthquake in January of 2024. The first, a Pokémon-themed footbath, held its opening ceremony this week, restoring part of the previously damaged Yuttari Park. The bigger project will be the renovation and reopening of Noto Satoyama Airport, decorated with Pokémon from top to bottom, as “Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport” this coming July.

Wakura Pokemon Footbath

The Pokémon With You project began in 2011 and has already worked to restore Noto Peninsula with a variety of smaller projects, including with some ever-popular Poké Lids installed last month. Their latest project in the region, the restoration of the footbath, returns some functionality to the Wukara Onsen in Nanao City. The footbath features statues of the Pokémon pictured on the Poké Lid in Nanao City, including a large Gyarados fountain, and Politoed and Poliwag enjoying a basin. There is also Pokémon art on the shoji-style windows, and a large Pokémon photoboard to welcome visitors. Local news reports that children from a nearby kindergarten were invited to be the first visitors to the newly opened footbath.

From Tokyo Weekender news:
Sitting beside Pokémon statues and dangling their feet in the warm spring water, they smiled, chatted and pointed excitedly at their favorite characters. For many residents, the scene was a moving reminder of the warmth and liveliness slowly returning to the town.

Pokémon With You is especially able to help revitalize areas of Noto Peninsula that relied on the tourism industry, and indeed one of the stated goals of the new Wakura Pokemon Footbath is to attract visitors to the recovering town. “We hope many people from across Japan and around the world will visit. It truly feels like a wonderful new facility has opened,” said Kazuhiro Okuda, chairman of the Wakura Onsen Tourism Association. The footbath is free and open to the public 7 AM to 7 PM daily.

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Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport

The much larger project announced today is the renovation of the Noto Satoyama Airport, which will feature tons of Pokémon theming and activities, including extensive decor, exclusive merchandise, and even Pokémon restaurant items. The airport will begin operation on July 7th as “Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport,” the first airport to ever carry Pokémon theming in its name, and will be open until September 30th, 2029.

The airport features all 111 Flying-type Pokémon (excluding special forms like Mega Evolutions) in the airport decor, especially in the 2nd floor atrium. Other special themed areas include the “Pikachu’s Village” observation deck and the main lobby, where visitors are greeted by Milotic. A piece of Pokémon artwork made just for the airport, called “Sky of Hope,” will decorate merchandise bags and the airport’s buses, among other things.

Inside the airport, travelers can find three special videos using their smartphones. For example, a statue of Bagon looking up at Salamence takes patrons to the "Fly, Bagon!" video. At the third floor Restaurant Annon, guests can order Pokémon menu items. Plans include two types of pancakes and two types of drinks, which will be served on Pokémon placemats. The second floor shop called Serendipity will be selling items with the “Sky of Hope” artwork, including t-shirts, keychains, luggage tags, and suitcase straps. Prices are not yet revealed, and items will be limited per person.

Finally, the airport will be running two bus routes where visitors can see some of the other infrastructure supported by the Pokémon With You program. Both buses will be wrapped in Pokémon designs, and the first will take a direct route between the airport, Kanazawa City, and Wajima City, both of which have their own Poké Lids. The second bus route is more scenic, taking guests to the above-mentioned Wakura Pokemon Footbath and the “Sylveon with Love” monument, recently installed in Suzu City. This scenic bus route is scheduled to operate on a limited schedule.

Pokémon With You emphasizes that both projects are intended to drive tourism to the recovering Noto Peninsula, and encourages the public to visit both the new features and the surrounding towns. Check out other Pokémon With You efforts on their website.

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It's so cool that those children got to be the first visitors of the Wakura Pokémon Footbath.
Like, what a legendary field trip to have in kindergarten.

 

Finally some happy irl Pokémon news