HOME Tokyo and Surroundings Other prefectures Aichi Explore Space With Pokémon! World-First Meteorite Fossil on Display

Explore Space With Pokémon! World-First Meteorite Fossil on Display

• Written by: Alice Lee

Date published: 8 October 2026

Pokémon fans and space lovers, ready for an interstellar adventure? The special exhibition Pokémon Observatory, which blends the world of the hit Pokémon games with the mysteries of the cosmos, opened on September 21, 2026 at the Toyohashi Museum of Natural History in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, inside Toyohashi General Zoo and Botanical Park (Nonhoi Park)!

Following the Pokémon Fossil Museum, which drew as many as 140,000 visitors four years ago, this exhibition shifts the stage to outer space. Toyohashi is the fourth stop on the Pokémon Observatory tour around Japan, and the first showing in the Chubu region or farther west. Starting from Earth, the exhibit travels to the Moon, the Sun, and the solar system, then returns home to Earth, exploring the wonders of life through the eyes of Pokémon. Here are the must-see highlights, rare items making their world debut, and all the event details!

Image source: Toyohashi City
©Pokémon. ©Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. ポケットモンスター・ポケモン・Pokémon

The Toyohashi Museum of Natural History has a striking new exhibit: a meteorite fossil (Österplana 017, or Ark 017) found in rock strata about 470 million years old. Held by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the specimen is making its world debut here! What makes it so special is that a single rock bears traces of both a meteorite that fell to Earth and a nautiloid, a marine creature of that era.

The exhibit area also displays precious samples from the asteroid Ryugu, brought back by the Hayabusa2 probe (shown in the Mikawa region for the first time), along with plenty of models and astronomical images provided by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, JAXA, and the National Museum of Nature and Science. There is even a real meteorite you can touch, so visitors can feel the texture of something from space.

The exhibition cleverly ties in Pokémon traits to make abstract space science approachable and easy to grasp:

・Gravity and Magnetism Experiences:
The Pokémon Observatory Simulation Lab uses computer animation to simulate how a thrown ball travels under different gravity levels. You can also experience the intense magnetic fields of sunspots with the magnetic Pokémon Magnemite and Magneton.

・Stellar Evolution and Pokémon:
The process of a nebula forming a star is compared with the evolution of the Nebula Pokémon Cosmog into Cosmoem, and then into Solgaleo or Lunala, so the life of a star is easy to follow at a glance.

・New MR Experience and Life-Size Models:
The Toyohashi venue introduces an MR headset experience for the first time. Put on the goggles to view space and Pokémon in different wavelengths, including visible light, infrared, and X-rays (ages 6 and up only). Life-size Pokémon models, including Rayquaza, Deoxys, and Gothitelle, are also waiting for photo ops!

Written by:

Alice Lee

A native of Taiwan, she has lived in Japan for 10 years and holds JLPT N1 certification. She enjoys reading Japanese novels and has experience as a guide at a tourist information center, as well as writing for travel media. She enjoys visiting shrines and once walked an hour each way for a single visit. She also explores sites tied to Sengoku period warlords and enjoys hiking. Interested in lesser-known destinations, she is dedicated to uncovering hidden spots. Her travels span many regions, and she enjoys bringing home local souvenirs to taste and share with friends and family.

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