We’ve had Pokémon manhole covers, and now we have Pokémon post boxes, with a Slowpoke Postbox being revealed in Kagawa!
Pokémon manhole covers installed around Japan have given a mutual benefit to both The Pokémon Company and the various regions where these manhole covers are installed. It gives awareness to the Pokémon brand on the one hand, while fans of Pokémon will travel to the various regions where these manholes are installed in order to see them in person, providing a boost to tourism. This is what Takamatsu City in Kagawa is hoping for with the unveiling of the first Slowpoke Postbox.
The postbox itself is being made in partnership with the Udonken PR campaign to promote sightseeing campaign in the region. The box itself is functionally the same (it won’t slow down the time it takes for your post to arrive in spite of its name or the personality of the featured Pokémon), but will feature a Slowpoke head on the top and Pokémon designs around its exterior that are infused with local sightseeing spots. If you peek a look at the back of the box, you may even see a Shellder!
A Pokémon Japan Post delivery truck will also be joining in the Slowpoke fun alongside the postbox, having been decked out in Slowpoke stickers. You can also use a commemorative stamp for your post in the Takamatsu Central Post Office that features Slowpoke until 31 December 2021. You can put this on your post or in a notebook for safekeeping to commemorate the occasion, but you can only do so for a limited time.
For Pokémon fans living in or visiting Japan, this is yet another tourist spot to add to the ever-growing list of Pokémon landmarks scattered throughout Japan. Now that the Pokémon tourism campaign has spread beyond manhole covers, maybe we need to inevitably accept that, someday, every landmark in Japan will be Pokémon.