Pokemon Go is up in Japan! ..aaand down again

And the moment we have waited for is finally here: Pokemon GO has been launched in Japan. I have been trying to suppress my old passion for gaming, which was very strong from elementary and all the way up to high school, but my inner gaming nerd could not resist the temptation of downloading Pokemon GO. A big chunk of my hour was spent running around my office looking for the little critters.

Zubat discovered in Ikebukuro

As the gaijin I am I didn't work much too much overtime, and could get out of the office before most of my colleagues. Could even get a hold on a couple of more pokemon on the train home (you know, just this weirdo gaijin randomly filming people on the train). When I got to Ikebukuro, however, my phone had to give in for the massive pressure on the servers..

A message from the Pokemon GO team saying the server is down

Aaaand that was that, it seems like it'll be hard to log into the game for a while. I must say, though, that if Pokemon GO can make Japanese workers finish their job early and get them out of the office before the last train then this launch is definitely a positive thing (except for the possibility of total chaos in Tokyo..). Go go go!

About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.