On July 17, Ishikawa Prefecture held a “Pokémon-Themed Bus Unveiling Ceremony” at Japan Aviation High School Ishikawa.
As part of the “Come On Over! Pokémon Noto Tour” initiative to support tourism on the Noto Peninsula—a project undertaken in collaboration with the Pokémon With You Foundation—the Hokuriku Railway Group unveiled two buses on July 18: the “Pokémon Noto Tour Bus” and the “Noto Area Limited Express Bus.” It is said that this will be the only day these two buses, which operate on different routes, will be displayed side by side.
The newly launched “Pokémon Tour Bus” is a guided tour that visits Pokémon spots and “Poké-Futa” locations throughout the Noto area, including Wakura Onsen and Anamizu Station. The tour includes an original pouch, and the fare is 5,000 yen for adults and 2,500 yen for children (advance online reservation required). The tour will run exclusively on weekends and holidays during the summer vacation period (July 18–August 31), from September through November, and in March 2027.
The Noto-bound Limited Express Bus will operate on the existing Wajima–Kanazawa route, with only one round trip per day. No advance reservation is required, and payment can be made only in cash, by credit card (contactless payment), or with ICa. IC cards other than ICa, such as Suica and ICOCA, cannot be used.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by Daisuke Asano, Vice Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture; Takumi Kobayashi, President and CEO of Hokuriku Railway; and Kenichi Arai, Business Group Leader at the Pokémon With You Foundation.
Mr. Arai stated, “We are continuing our efforts to bring even a little joy and energy to everyone—especially the children affected by the Reiwa 6 Noto Peninsula Earthquake—and to support tourism in order to restore a sense of liveliness and vitality to the local community. “Starting with the reopening of the Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport on July 7, we have established Pokémon tourist spots throughout the Noto Peninsula,” he said, introducing the organization’s most recent initiatives.
On the other hand, they acknowledged that the Noto Peninsula is very large and recognized the transportation challenges involved in planning how to visit the various tourist attractions, where to stay, and how to travel between Kanazawa and Noto.
Regarding the design of the collaborative vehicles with the Hokuriku Railway Group, the limited-express buses bound for the Noto region feature “Akarui Mirai” (Bright Future)—original artwork created specifically for the airport—to convey a sense of excitement about taking to the skies. The Pokémon Noto Tour Buses, meanwhile, are decorated with Pokémon tourist spots from across the Noto Peninsula to evoke a sense of anticipation for exploring the peninsula.
At the end of the unveiling ceremony, the children from Suzu City’s Tsubaki Nursery School gave the signal “Let’s go!” together with Pikachu and were among the first to enjoy a test ride on the bus.
© Source travel watch