It is always interesting to see what big video game brands likePokemondo on a regular basis to draw the attention of its fan base and community. This explains the constant marketing campaigns, such asofficialPokemonpartnerships with mainstream brandsfor themed merchandise, and even real-life exhibits or life-sized statues displayed in physical locations. This is likely the reason why photos of a “life-sized” Alolan Exeggutor statue that is currently on display in a Japanese airport have recently popped up online.Though The Pokemon Company sometimes branches out to other parts of the world for its marketing campaign, it seems the brunt ofPokemon-themed events and exhibits are mainly held in the company’s home country of Japan. More often than not, the Japanese government partners with The Pokemon Company to boost a specific locale’s tourism. This is why tourists often see airplanes ormanhole covers withPokemondesigns, with some prefectures in Japan even partnering with a specific Pokemon as its tourism brand ambassador.RELATED:Pokemon Fan Makes Impressive Poke Ball Shadow Box ArtOn thePokemonsubreddit, a photo of the life-sized statue of theGrass and Dragon-type Pokemon Alolan Exeggutorthat was on display at a Japanese airport was shared with the community by user sdj1s17. The Redditor indicated that the statue was spotted in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport in the post’s title. However, comments on the thread quickly corrected this by stating that Japanese characters can be seen in the photo. This indicates that thePokemonstatue is indeed located in Japan, and not in Taiwan. More accurately, the statue can be found in the Miyazaki Bougainvillea Airport of Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture.[EMBED_REDDIT]https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/vrd1ry/a_life_size_alolan_exeggutor_today_at_taoyuan/[/EMBED_REDDIT]Upon further research, the large Alolan Exeggutor statue is actually part of Miyazaki Prefecture’s current tourism campaign. In 2020, Alolan Exeggutor was appointed as one of the prefecture’sPokemonbrand ambassadors due to the area’s warmer climate and its official prefectural tree resembling the Grass and Dragon-type Pokemon. Fans will likely recall that the Miyazaki Prefecture jumpstarted the Pokemon’s ambassadorship withExeggutor and Alolan Exeggutor themed planesthat originated from the prefecture’s Miyazaki City.
For travelers who are in Japan right now, seeing the Alolan Exeggutor while in transit will likely be a pleasant surprise. This shows that these Japanese prefectures take theirPokemonbrand ambassadors seriously and plan to utilize them to boost the tourism of their area. Hopefully other areas in Japan withPokemonambassadors will follow suit and also put “life-size” statues of iconic Pokemon on display for fans to enjoy and take pictures of.
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