Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Anime Places to Visit in Tokyo: 9 Real Spots

Pokémon Center Tokyo: Which of the Five to Visit, What Is Next to Each One, and How Card Sales Work Now

The Tokyo area has five official Pokémon Centers, four in Tokyo itself and one in Chiba, plus one smaller Pokémon Store. For a first visit, pick Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo in Ikebukuro or Pokémon Center Tokyo DX in Nihonbashi, which shares a floor with the Pokémon Cafe. Pokémon Center Tokyo-Bay is in Chiba, not Tokyo. New Pokémon card products are currently sold by advance lottery and, for some releases, a face check. I run private anime tours in Akihabara most weeks, and this is the question guests ask most about the rest of Tokyo.

There is no Pokémon Center in Akihabara. The official store list does not have one, and that surprises people, because Akihabara feels like the place it should be. Below is where they actually are.

Which Pokémon Center in Tokyo should you visit?

Mega Tokyo if you want the one with the most around it: it sits in Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, next to Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe, a Pokémon Card Station and Pokémon GO Lab. Tokyo DX if you want the Pokémon Cafe, which is on the same floor. Shibuya or Skytree Town if you are already going there.

Every location below is from The Pokémon Company's official store list, checked on 4 October 2026. Guests on my Akihabara anime tour usually pair one of these with a different day, because none of them is in Akihabara:

From Akihabara, Tokyo Station is two stops on the JR Yamanote line, which makes Tokyo DX and the Tokyo Station store the easiest to add to an Akihabara day.

Is Pokémon Center Tokyo-Bay in Tokyo?

No. Despite the name, Pokémon Center Tokyo-Bay is inside LaLaport TOKYO-BAY in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, about five minutes from Minami-Funabashi Station on the JR Keiyō line. It is a perfectly good Pokémon Center, but it is a trip out of the city, not a stop on the way somewhere.

This is the honest section, because the name catches a lot of people. If you only have time for one, choose one of the four inside Tokyo. Tokyo-Bay makes sense if you are already going to that shopping centre, or if you are staying on the Keiyō line side of the bay.

How are new Pokémon cards sold at Pokémon Centers now?

Not by walking in on release day. For recent launches, the Tokyo Pokémon Centers have used advance lotteries run through a LINE mini app: you apply for one store and one time slot, winners are notified, and purchase is limited (10 packs per person for a September 2026 release). For a reissue in October 2026, stores are trialling a face-recognition check that allows one purchase per person per day.

The details, from the stores' own notices:

• Lottery entries go through LINE. You need the LINE app installed to apply, and only winners are notified.
• One entry only. The notices ask you not to apply to several stores or dates.
• No general sale during the lottery period for the product being drawn.
• Face check (1 to 15 October 2026, for one reissued product): everyone from primary-school age up is checked at a terminal in the store, and a second purchase by the same person on the same day is refused. Masks, hats and sunglasses come off for the check.

For a visitor on a short trip, the practical advice is to treat sealed new cards from a Pokémon Center as unlikely, and enjoy the store for everything else. If cards are the point, Akihabara's card shops sell singles every day, priced card by card in glass cases.

What can you buy at a Pokémon Center?

Official Pokémon goods: plush, stationery, everyday items and card supplies, including things made for the Pokémon Center stores. Each store also runs its own events and campaigns, listed month by month on its store page. Thirty to forty-five minutes is enough for most visitors.

The thirty-to-forty-five minutes figure matches what we print on anime places to visit in Tokyo, where Pokémon Centers sit with the other short stops. They are gift shops at heart, and very good ones. If you want something that cannot be bought at home, look at the store-specific items rather than the plush that every store carries.

Do you need to book the Pokémon Cafe?

Yes. The Pokémon Cafe in Nihombashi, next to Pokémon Center Tokyo DX, takes reservations online and does not seat walk-ins. The rules for when bookings open are in our guide to what to book before your Tokyo trip. The shop itself needs no booking.

What to book before your Tokyo trip has the Pokémon Cafe booking window and the other places in Tokyo that sell out.

Can you shop tax-free at a Pokémon Center?

Ask at the counter, with your passport, if you spend ¥5,000 or more before tax in one store on one day. From 1 November 2026 Japan's tax-free system changes: you pay the full price in the shop and get the tax back at the airport after a customs check.

The new process is in tax-free shopping in Japan after November 2026. If you are flying out of Narita Terminal 1, the official store list also includes a Pokémon Store at the airport, for the last-minute gift.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a Pokémon Center in Akihabara? No. The official store list has no Pokémon Center in Akihabara. The closest are Pokémon Center Tokyo DX in Nihombashi and the Pokémon Store at Tokyo Station, both easy to reach from Akihabara on the JR line to Tokyo Station.

Which is the biggest Pokémon Center in Tokyo? The official site does not rank them by size. Mega Tokyo in Ikebukuro has the most next to it: Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe, a Pokémon Card Station and Pokémon GO Lab.

Where is the Pokémon Cafe in Tokyo? In Nihombashi Takashimaya S.C. East Building, 5th floor, on the same floor as Pokémon Center Tokyo DX. It needs a reservation.

Can I just walk in and buy new Pokémon card packs? Usually not on release. Recent launches at the Tokyo stores were sold by advance lottery through LINE, and some reissues use a face-recognition check limiting each person to one purchase a day.

Is Pokémon Center Tokyo-Bay worth the trip? Only if you are going to LaLaport TOKYO-BAY anyway. It is in Funabashi, Chiba, and the four stores inside Tokyo are easier to reach.

A Pokémon Center is an hour; Akihabara is the afternoon

Pokémon Centers are the short, cheerful stop. If you would like a half day in Akihabara planned around the series you watch, Pokémon included, Adventure in Akihabara with Anime is my private walk, three to four hours, never shared with other guests. The price is on the tour page.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours here most weeks, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews. I have watched over 1,500 anime series, which is either a qualification or a warning depending on your point of view.

See the Akihabara anime tour →

Sources: The Pokémon Company, Pokémon Center store list (all stores and addresses); Pokémon Center official store pages for Mega Tokyo, Tokyo DX, Shibuya, Skytree Town, Tokyo Station store and Tokyo-Bay (floors, access, adjacent facilities, notices); Pokémon Center Tokyo-Bay notices 30th CELEBRATION lottery sale (16 September 2026: LINE mini app, 10 packs per person, one entry, no general sale) and Face-recognition trial for the MEGA Dream ex reissue (1–15 October 2026, once per person per day, primary-school age and up). All checked 4 October 2026. Opening hours are deliberately not given.