Is PokePark Kanto "Too Strict" on Kids? Japanese Fans Say It's Everyone's Park, Not Just Theirs
ポケパーク カントーは「子供に厳しすぎる」のか？ 日本人ファンの本音は「みんなの施設」
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
A Japanese channel titled its video "PokePark Kanto Is Too Strict on Kids, and It's Blowing Up." The top reply (3,115 likes) rejects the premise before the argument even starts: "A kids' facility? ...It's everyone's facility." In the top 200 comments of a 1,281-comment thread, Japanese fans defend almost every rule that had gone viral as unfair: children under 5 are barred from the walk-through Pokémon Forest attraction even carried in a parent's arms, and 1,084 likes call that ordinary for a theme park. Wheelchair users get a staircase-climbing lift into the Forest, but staff can turn them away if the day's conditions look unsafe. The one complaint commenters agree was legitimate, a 2-ticket purchase limit that locked out families of three or more, is also the one the park has since fixed.
“A kids' facility? ...It's everyone's facility...”
子供の施設？…みんなの施設やろ…
Places named in this article
- PokePark KantoYomiuriland, on the Tokyo–Kanagawa border
The park at the centre of the debate. Most of the rules commenters defend apply only to one section (see Pokémon Forest below); the entrance plaza and Kayatsuri Town have no age limit.
- Pokémon ForestInside PokePark Kanto, Yomiuriland
The walking course the age and mobility rules apply to: no under-5s even carried, 110 steps, and wheelchair entry is judged case by case on safety.
Sources: travelphotolover.com — checked 2026-09-14
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Why can't children under 5 enter Pokémon Forest at PokePark Kanto?
- The park's own rule bars anyone under 5 from Pokémon Forest, even carried by a parent or in a stroller, though the entrance plaza and Kayatsuri Town areas have no age limit. The Forest is a roughly 500-metre walking course with 110 steps and steep climbs, and PokePark also asks that anyone who is pregnant, has been drinking, or cannot safely manage stairs on their own skip it. Rules as of 14 September 2026; check the official site before you go.
Sources: travelphotolover.com · misalabo.com — checked 2026-09-14
- Is PokePark Kanto wheelchair accessible?
- Partly. Staff can bring a wheelchair up the gentler section near the Forest entrance using a stair-climbing lift, but the park says it can still refuse entry on the day if weather or other safety conditions make it too risky. After the January 2026 backlash, PokePark revised this support rather than removing the restriction outright.
Sources: oricon.co.jp · news.yahoo.co.jp — checked 2026-09-14
- Can I buy PokePark Kanto tickets for a family of three or more at once?
- Yes, now. The rule commenters singled out as the one legitimate problem, a 2-ticket limit per application, shut out families of three or more when the park opened. For admission from 1 November 2026, PokePark raised the limit to 6 tickets per application and 12 held at once, and made lottery-won tickets cancellable and refundable.
Sources: dengekionline.com · game.watch.impress.co.jp — checked 2026-09-14
- How much are PokePark Kanto tickets?
- Prices are dynamic and rise on weekends, holidays and school breaks. Reported starting prices are around ¥7,900 for the standard Trainer's Pass and ¥14,000 for the Elite Trainer's Pass for adults, with lower child rates; a lighter Town Pass (no Forest access) has also been reported from about ¥4,700. Treat these as starting points, not fixed prices, and check the official site for the date you plan to visit.
Sources: travelcontentsapp.com — checked 2026-09-14
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What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 1,281 comments
At this point, aren't there more adults playing Pokémon than kids...?
もはや子どもより大人の方が ポケモンやってる人多いのでは…
I don't think Pokémon belongs to kids alone.
ポケモンは子供だけのものではないと私は思うんですが…
None of this can be helped, really... Complaining that early buyers snapped up first-come tickets just puts the seller in a bind, it's obvious they'd have to restrict entry given the park isn't fully barrier-free, and charging from toddlers is honestly reasonable once you factor in the risk of things getting broken... too many people just don't get it. Added: Most theme parks these days start charging from age 3 or 4, so anyone complaining about the child pricing probably hasn't been to one.
これ全部しゃーないやん… 先着で先買われたって文句言われても販売元困るし、バリアフリー完備出来てないから制限しますは当たり前だし、幼児からも金とるは壊されるリスク考えたらむしろ妥当…… わからん人が多過ぎるんよ…… 追記:最近のテーマパーク系は大体どこでも3,4歳から料金発生してるから子供料金で文句言ってる人はそもそもそういう所行ったこと無いんだろうな……
Thinking Pokémon equals kids is shallow. Even regular amusement parks have age and height limits, and those limits exist to protect people from danger (and to stop the crying that follows an injury). PokePark is built around walking, so it was never designed with people who have trouble walking in mind to begin with. The system error... can't be helped either, I guess.
ポケモン=子供って考えが浅はかすぎる 遊園地でも年齢制限や高さ制限があるしそういう制限があるのは危険から守るため（それで怪我してわーわー叫ぶのも防ぐため） ポケパークは歩くことを前提としてるのでそもそも足の不自由な人が来る発想にはならない。 システムエラーは……仕方ない……と思う
Restricting entry to Pokémon Forest seems obvious to me. Wild Pokémon are dangerous, it's not a place for someone who hasn't become a trainer yet. It's a shame about the wheelchairs, but yeah, a wheelchair in the forest really is dangerous.
ポケモンフォレストの入場制限は当たり前だと思う。野生のポケモンは危険だから、トレーナーになっていない人が行くところではない。車椅子は残念だけど、普通に車椅子で森は危ないよね。
The rest of the park skews toward an older crowd anyway, wheelchairs can't get up the stairs, and small kids might break things, so the forest is a no-go — but they sell tickets that let you into everywhere except the forest, which is pretty considerate if you ask me.
そもそもポケモン以外と年齢層高いし車椅子とかは階段登れないし小さい子は物壊しちゃう可能性あるから森は無理だし森以外はいれるチケット売ってるから結構良心的だろ
If they let kids in freely and one of them got hurt, the same people would be screaming "the park wasn't careful enough" and "they underestimated what could happen to a child." It's grotesque.
これで子供を自由に入場させて怪我しようものなら「園内に配慮が足りない」「子供に対する想定が甘い」とかギャーギャー騒ぐんだろ。グロすぎる…
The one genuinely bad part is the 2-tickets-per-person purchase limit. That's basically telling families not to come.
一番よくないのは一人一度に2枚までの購入制限 家族で来るなって言ってるのと同義
Pokémon's own Pokémon Kids TV is aimed at little kids, so, everything else aside, cutting off at under-5 really is overdoing it. Under-3 would have been enough.
ポケモン公式が幼い子に向けてボケモンキッズTVを流してるのよ 他の事はどうでもいいけど、5歳未満はさすがにやりすぎ せめて3歳未満だよ
Reading the comments here, I'm relieved there are genuinely sensible people out there... Pokémon is something everyone enjoys together! It wouldn't have lasted 30 years otherwise!!
コメ欄見たら本当にまともな人たちが居てくれて安心しました… ポケモンはみんなで楽しむものっすよ！ そんなんじゃ30年も続いてないっす！！
Our household has a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old, so we can't go to PokePark together as a family for three years, and there's no telling if my older one will still be into Pokémon by then, so realistically we're probably just never going.
我が家は長男7歳と次男2歳だから3年間は家族全員でポケパークに行けないし3年後は長男がポケモンにハマっているか分からないから結局ずっと行かなさそう。