{"id":1981,"date":"2025-09-06T09:00:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T16:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2025-09-06T09:00:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T16:00:41","slug":"chansey-pokemon-park-in-japan-helps-a-region-heal-from-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1981","title":{"rendered":"Chansey Pok\u00e9mon Park in Japan helps a region heal from disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Fukushima looks to a brighter future with the help of its Lucky Support Pok\u00e9mon.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in 2021, government officials in Fukushima Prefecture announced that four towns would be receiving a Chansey Park<\/a>. This special collaboration with Pok\u00e9mon<\/strong> was designed to help re-energise the disaster-struck region while also drawing upon a commonality in name, with Chansey\u2019s Japanese name, \u201cLucky<\/strong>\u201d tying in perfectly with \u201cfuku\u201c,<\/strong> the first Japanese character of Fukushima, which means \u201cluck<\/strong>\u201c. And so, four Lucky parks were born in Japan, all in Fukushima Prefecture.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A pilgrimage to any of these parks would delight any Chansey fan, but for young ones, who actually get to use the pink play equipment, a visit is especially enchanting. That\u2019s what our reporter Natsuno Futon discovered when she recently took her children along to the park in Koriyama City, as her eldest daughter immediately starting running towards Chansey as soon as it started appearing from behind the trees.<\/p>\n

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This Lucky Park is conveniently located inside Kaiseizan Park, which has two hours free parking for visitors. The grounds of the wider park are spacious, with a large pond and red bridge making it a pleasant spot for families to gather and relax, especially on weekends and public holidays.<\/p>\n

The true highlight, though, is the gigantic Chansey that lifts your spirits from the moment you see it<\/strong>. Surrounded by pink play equipment that includes a Lickitung slide<\/strong>, a Cherrim and Chansey swing<\/strong>, and a Happiny sandbox<\/strong>, Chansey looks down benevolently on everyone who approaches.<\/p>\n

\u25bc \u201c\u30e9\u30c3\u30ad\u30fc\u516c\u5712 in \u3053\u304a\u308a\u3084\u307e\u3057(\u201cLucky Park in Koriyama City\u201d)<\/p>\n

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With Igglybuff and Cleffa also in the mix, it was like a pink-themed Pok\u00e9mon festival, and the sight of it all touched Natsuno\u2019s nostalgic heart so much that she couldn\u2019t resist running over to give Chansey a big \u2018ol hug.<\/p>\n

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She soon found herself wishing she\u2019d had somewhere like this to excite her imagination when she was younger, but when she saw the joy it was bringing to her children, she felt that same joy wash over her as well.<\/p>\n

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Suppressing<\/strong> a deep urge to slide down Lickitung<\/strong>, Natsuno stood back to let her children have fun as she walked around to greet all the other Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Happiny<\/strong> waved hello from the sandpit\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc \u2026 Cleffa <\/strong>and Igglybuff <\/strong>peered out from either side of a Pok\u00e9 Ball\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc \u2026and Cherrim <\/strong>and Chansey <\/strong>sat atop the swings, with sakura tree adornments adding to the pink cuteness.<\/p>\n

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There was also a smaller Chansey<\/strong>, who could be entered from the back and gently ridden as it swayed from side to side.<\/p>\n

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\nNatsuno\u2019s daughters spent time with every single Pok\u00e9mon in the park, intuitively knowing how to use each of them according to the clever designs.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc One of their favourites was Lickitung, who had a set of hidden stairs inside\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc \u2026 leading to its giant tongue.<\/p>\n

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The other highlight, of course, was the giant Chansey, who had a wonderfully pink maze-like rear that led to the slides on either side.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc Peering inside, Natsuno discovered that Chansey\u2019s egg was also a play area.<\/p>\n

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As her children played, Natsuno found one piece of equipment well suited to older folks like herself.<\/p>\n

\u25bc A Pikachu bench.<\/p>\n

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Complete with Pok\u00e9 Ball feet, this was a gorgeous place for parents to sit and watch their children play.<\/p>\n

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When it was finally time to leave, Natsuno and her children waved to all the Pok\u00e9mon in the park as they vowed to visit again.<\/p>\n

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Not wanting the day to end, Natsuno decided to extend the Pok\u00e9mon fun by feasting on some Chansey Curry for dinner.<\/p>\n

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Exclusive to stores in Fukushima, which is home to a number of Chansey products, given that it\u2019s the prefecture\u2019s official \u201csupport Pok\u00e9mon\u201d, this retort pack is called \u201cFukushima Fruity Curry<\/strong>\u201d (594 yen [US$4.01]).<\/p>\n

\u25bc The curry is made with Fukushima-grown peaches, apples, and tomatoes.<\/p>\n

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While the ingredients and the Pok\u00e9mon affiliation make this curry unique, what makes it even more special is its \u201clucky\u201d feature: if you find five eggs inside the curry, you win!<\/p>\n

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The prize for winning is the eggs themselves, and when Natsuno searched her curry, she found one, and then two, but alas, no more appeared.<\/p>\n

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She may not have had a lucky Lucky curry, but she certainly had a Lucky one, and it tasted incredibly delicious.<\/p>\n

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Mellow enough for both adults and children to eat, the fruity sweetness and the aroma of spices spread gently through the palate, conveying the deliciousness of Fukushima\u2019s fruits\u2026and its Lucky Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc Yes, Chansey \u2014 your curry is delicious!<\/p>\n

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With three other Chansey Parks in Fukushima, located in Namie Town, Yanetsu Town, and Showa Village, Natsuno and her children are now keen to visit \u2019em all. And next time, they hope that Chansey might shower them with a bit of luck\u2026so they can find five eggs in their lucky curry afterwards.<\/p>\n

Photos\u00a9SoraNews24
\n<\/em>\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fukushima looks to a brighter future with the help of its Lucky Support Pok\u00e9mon. Back in 2021, government officials in Fukushima Prefecture announced that four towns would be receiving a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}