Yesterday my girlfriend and I went to Pokepark Kanto. From information we could find online it seemed we'd be fine if we arrived at opening time (around 10:00 AM) at the park and could book all experiences. Just to be sure, we decided to arrive about an hour early. And I am so glad we did.
On our way to the park, we saw Yomiuri land opens at 9:00 AM. When we arrived at the train station outside the park at around 8:40 AM there was already a small line forming at the cable car going up to the park. Very shortly after we arrived at the line, massive groups started forming behind us. We quickly got a ticket at the machine and proceeded, via cable car, to the park entrance.
We were in the line to enter Yomiuri land at around 8:55 AM and found we could not open our tickets in the Pokepark App using our ESIM. It gave us the error that we were not located in Japan and that we needed to be in order to even open the app properly. Using the free WiFi point of the Starbucks at the entrance to the park (just after the ticket gates) allowed us to open the app properly and show our tickets. Not sure whether it was our phones acting up, but only when we were very close to the entrance gates were we in close enough proximity to the Starbucks that we could actually use the WiFi point.
The line at this time wasn't the worst; I think we queued for around 10 minutes and we entered the park at 9:05.
Way more importantly, as soon as you have entered through the Yomiuri land gates, you can book your Pokepark experiences already (e.g. gym show, the shop, playhouse). This means that arriving well before Pokepark opening times is actually required in some cases. The shop had plenty of open timeslots when we booked them at 9:05, but the playhouse had only a single spot open (the latest, at 17:20). We had Ace Trainer passes and so didn't bother trying to grab the gym show timeslot; unsure how quickly that fills up.
Note: for doing anything in the Pokepark app we needed WiFi, so directly upon entering the park, stay near the Starbucks and their WiFi to book your rides in Pokepark!
Pokepark itself does have an open WiFi network, so during your stay in the park you can freely use the app.
Some other tips (that we can think of quickly):
– there don't seem to be coin lockers in Pokepark itself. Yomiuri land does have them, including (I think) those suitable for large suitcases.
– If you have the Ace Trainer pass, it is best to quickly pick up your free goodies (tickets for the rides etc.) as soon as you enter the park.
– Re-entry into the park is allowed. Do note that every time you re-enter the staff need to check your ticket once more and also conduct the bag check for dangerous goods.
– The Pokemon forest area seemed to be way less crowded in the afternoon. i think we went around 15:00 (yes, we spent the entire day from opening- to closing time in the park) and we hardly saw anybody else. It was raining pretty much the entire time after 11:00 AM so maybe that was an additional reason for that.
– In rainy conditions, an alternative to the regular Pokemon parade is organised. In this alternative parade, the stage at the beginning of the town area is used at the specified times. The area in front of the stage fills up quickly so be sure to be on time.
If you have any more questions feel free to ask them! 🙂
by aromatic_shepherd74