Have you ever taken a neighborhood walk and, just for the fun of it, decided to stray from your usual path and explore the backstreets and narrow lanes? More often than not, your adventure into the unknown has led you to discover some interesting little shops perhaps, or maybe a pretty area altogether new to you. Stepping away from your normal routine leads to exciting new discoveries. Now, with “Pokémon GO,” our location-based app for smartphones, by connecting the real and virtual realms through Pokémon we want to encourage more and more people to explore new paths – step out of their comfort zone – and discover whole new worlds of fun and excitement.

“Pokémon GO” was jointly developed by Niantic, Inc. and The Pokémon Company and released in 2016. Today the app is available in over 150 countries and regions. To keep “Pokémon GO” adventures consistently fun and engaging, new functions are continuously added and updated.

One exciting new function is “Routes.” App users can create a Route they think others would enjoy*, or follow Routes created by other Trainers. To get more and more Trainers to use Routes, we launched a program crafted to arouse an adventurous spirit, a desire to explore unfamiliar backstreets and byways.

* This capability is available only to Trainers of level 37 and higher.

By taking a Route linked to a real path, app users can get items and find unusual Pokémon.

For starters, we created 8 official “Pokémon GO Routes” in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, one of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations, loved for its cultural richness and quaint atmosphere. The 8 Routes integrate Pokémon with some of the less visited attractions of the area. To give users an overview of the 8 Routes, a large map was installed showing the greater Asakusa region. A special event was then planned to acquaint users with the features of the various Routes and the specific Pokémon they would meet along each Route. Our aim was to provide users with unique experiences in Asakusa, while maintaining the game aspect and overall concepts of “Pokémon GO.”  

This huge map shows the 8 official Pokémon GO Routes in Asakusa and the Pokémon found along each Route.

At the starting point of the 8 official Routes, colorful banners were hung to suggest how the app’s virtual Routes blend into the real world. The “Manpuku (Full Stomach) Route,” for example, was created in the image of Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon who requires enormous amounts of food every day. The Route followed a path that passed restaurants and other places serving tasty treats of all kinds. And as you’d expect, along this Route one could find – and even catch! – Snorlax.
Colorful banners show the way to Asakusa’s 8 official Routes (“Surprises,” “Night Scenes,” “Narrow Lanes,” etc.).

Other official Routes took the visitor beyond the usual Asakusa landmarks – Sensoji Temple, Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise Shopping Street, etc. – to off-the-beaten-path locations of surprise and discovery. Walking along these Routes, the explorer saw Pokémon-themed decorations subtly placed so as not to spoil the natural appeal of the site. Special care was also taken to ensure optimal safety: for example, Routes didn’t include places too narrow for safe wandering. In these and other ways, the 8 offical Pokémon GO Routes in Asakusa were designed for both enjoyment and safety.

The event in Asakusa wasn’t limited to Route-making, though. The planning team also devised a host of ideas to integrate the historical richness of Asakusa with features of Pokémon. One example is rickshaws, a famous feature of the area. Here, “Machamp Rickshaws” were created in the design of Superpower Pokémon Machamp, with the wheels cleverly transformed into Monster Balls. Another Route featured a traditional roving advertising troupe known as “chindonya,” explaining the Route to their own musical accompaniment. These are just two of the many unique ideas that went into the event.

The event made for enjoyable strolling through Asakusa together with Pokémon.

Looking back on this event, the planning team was pleased to see how much participants obviously enjoyed “Pokémon GO”’s new Route feature enabling them to experience locations in an all-new and unique way, as demonstrated by their many positive comments posted on social media. Applying the experience we gained from the special event in Asakusa, we now look forward to introducing equally exciting and memorable “Pokémon GO” Routes in more and more locations.