Pikachu Outbreak: when Pokémon electrify Yokohama! ピカチュウアウトブレイク

The Pikachu Outbreak
pocketmonster.net
Can you catch them all?
Every year since 2014 Yokohama has organized its Pikachu Outbreak, 8 days of festivities centered around the most famous Pokémon on the planet: Pikachu! Between exclusive goodies and performances of all kinds, this is the summer event not to be missed if you're a fan of the little yellow mouse!
Over 1,500 Pikachu invade Minato-Mirai!
Located in Minato-Mirai , Pikachu Outbreak brings together more than 1,500 Pikachu each year to dance and parade around Yokohama Port. An event which then attracts young and old, and which gives rise to 8 days of festivities in the middle of August, during which the Pokémon give several daily performances.
- See also : Pokémon Cafe
Boat parades on the waters of Minato-Mirai in the early afternoon, contests in the surrounding shopping centers , musical shows near Queen's Square Yokohama during the day and the MARK IS Minatomirai in the evening, several places in the bay have thus been colonized by small yellow mice! An "invasion" that wouldn't be complete without the famous Super Soaking Splash near the Yokohama RedBrick House , a show of around twenty Pikachu that waters several hundred festival-goers every summer to the rhythm of the music!
For those interested, know that the schedules of the performances can be consulted on the official website of the event , as well as the exact places where they will be held. For the Pikachu Outbreak 2019 , however, the information will not be communicated until the beginning of summer.

The Pikachu Parade has been a staple event in Yokohama since 2014
Flick/ Yoshikazu TAKADA
A highly anticipated commercial event!
If one thing can surprise when you discover the PikachuOutbreak , it is the fervor of the festival-goers!
Synchronization of movements with the stars of the scene, songs taken up in unison, the Pikachu Outbreak brings together fans who sometimes come from all over the world to admire the precise dances of the Pikachu. An influx of visitors then benefits the entire bay, since many cafes and restaurants in the surrounding area set up food and drink stands throughout the duration of the festival... like during a masturi !
- See as well : Matsuri, Japanese festivals

In Yokohama the Pikachu are real stars!
Flick/ yuyugreen
Indeed, the Pikachu Outbreak is also that: a festival that looks like a crazy matsur i where we come to honor the muse of a great video game franchise!
Conferences are then organized there to promote new Pokémon, goodie stands come alongside traditional yakitori stands, and discounts valid in the Yokohama Pokemon Center are distributed at different places of the festival.
- Read also : Ikebukuro Pokémon Center
But never mind, the mood is as joyful as in a traditional matsuri ! And the visitors, always more numerous!
Last year, the Pikachu Outbreak had thus gathered several thousand visitors. A success in particular due to the fact that the Pikachu were accompanied onstage by their friends Evoli on the occasion of the release of the Nintendo Switch games ''Let's go Pikachu'' and ''Let's go Evoli''.
After all, the more the merrier, right?

Pikachu and Eevee in Yokohama
pokemonster.net
Address, timetable & access
Address
Timetable
a few minutes walk from MinatoMirai (MinatoMirai line) and Sakuragicho (Negishi, Blue lines) stationsPrice
freeAccess
every summer, from early to mid-AugustWebsite
https://www.pokemon.co.jp/ex/pika_event/en/