In Japan, the construction of a theme park dedicated to a specific Pokémon is about to begin, but it is not the most iconic and popular of all or Pikachu, as much as the peaceful and peaceful Slowpoke. From the leaked images it seems that the land where the structures will be set up has already been chosen: it is located near Ayagawa, a town of 25,000 inhabitants in the Kagawa prefecture and the location was not taken by chance. The “twinning” between Slowpoke and this specific part of Japan was in fact born in a curious way, with an April Fool’s Day 2018.
Kagawa is very famous for its delicious typical udon, so much so that it is often recognized as the “Prefecture of udon” and the word “udon” sounds very similar to “yadon” which is the Japanese name of the Pokémon Slowpoke. And so in 2018, an April Fool’s Day appeared announcing that Kagawa would be renamed to Yadon/Slowpoke Prefecture with the Pokémon given the position of governor. A bit like Pokémon Go which was born as Google’s April Fool’s Day, this much appreciated joke has also given rise to something concrete, a small tradition: wall drawings, thematic buses, decorated manhole covers have appeared in the various cities and even gastronomic menus dedicated to Slowpoke. In short, the cute little monster has truly become a symbol of the territory.
And so, to celebrate it properly and give a propulsive boost to tourism, the idea of a theme park dedicated to Slowpoke was promoted, which should include numerous attractions for the whole family, hotels, restaurants and so on. The goal is to inaugurate the structure in mid-April 2023, just in time for the long weekend of the spring holidays (Golden Week) which are among the best times of the year for these initiatives.
