Here's something most travel guides completely miss: Kyushu is quietly one of the best Pokémon destinations in Japan.
An entire prefecture has adopted Exeggutor as its official ambassador, with painted Pokémon manhole covers in all 26 of its municipalities. A hot spring town in the far south built a whole tourism identity around Eevee — because the town's name sounds like "Eevee" in Japanese. And Fukuoka has a full Pokémon Center, freshly relocated and expanded in 2025.
None of this is on the usual tourist trail. All of it is genuinely fun. Here's the complete guide, from a local.
What Are Pokéfuta? (Pokémon Manhole Covers)
Pokéfuta (ポケふた — literally "Poké-lids") are official, individually designed Pokémon manhole covers installed across Japan as part of The Pokémon Company's regional revitalization project, Pokémon Local Acts. Each one is a unique piece of art — no two designs in the entire country are the same.
They're placed at parks, stations, shrines, and scenic spots — which means hunting them naturally takes you to places worth visiting anyway. Most are also PokéStops in Pokémon GO.
Kyushu Pokéfuta at a Glance (2026)
| Prefecture | Featured Pokémon | Count & Where |
|---|---|---|
| Miyazaki | Exeggutor (+ Alolan Exeggutor) | 26 — one in every municipality |
| Kagoshima | Eevee & all evolutions | 9 — all in Ibusuki City |
| Fukuoka | Various | 8 — Dazaifu (3) & Kitakyushu (5) |
| Nagasaki | Various | 10 across the prefecture |
| Saga | Meowth (3 regional forms) | 3 — all in Saga City |
| Oita & Kumamoto | — | None yet (see below) |
Always check the official Pokémon Local Acts manhole map for exact locations — new lids are added regularly.
Pokémon Center Fukuoka — Bigger Since the 2025 Relocation
✦ AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of the actual site
The Hakata Station district — the Pokémon Center is steps away
Important update many guides haven't caught up with: Pokémon Center Fukuoka moved in June 2025. The old store on the 8th floor of JR Hakata City is gone. The new, significantly larger store is on the 2nd floor of Hakata Marui— still directly connected to Hakata Station, so it's even easier to reach.
The relocation wasn't just a move — it was an upgrade. The new store includes an event space, a card station for Pokémon TCG players, and a bigger selection of Fukuoka-exclusive merchandise. Look for regional items featuring local motifs — these are the souvenirs you genuinely can't buy anywhere else, including Tokyo.
📍 Visiting Notes
- • Location: Hakata Marui 2F, connected to JR Hakata Station
- • Perfect timing: Hit it between meals — it's 10 minutes from the ramen and udon shops in our Fukuoka food guide
- • Weekday mornings are quietest; weekend afternoons can have entry queues during big merchandise releases
Miyazaki — Exeggutor Paradise (26 Manholes, One Per Municipality)
In 2020, Miyazaki Prefecture officially appointed Exeggutor and Alolan Exeggutoras its "Miyazaki Daisuki Pokémon" (Miyazaki-loving Pokémon) ambassadors. The logic is perfect: Miyazaki is Japan's palm tree prefecture — a subtropical coastline that has marketed itself as "Japan's Hawaii" since the 1960s. A palm-tree Pokémon was the only possible choice.
The commitment is total: there is now an Exeggutor-themed Pokéfuta in every single one of Miyazaki's 26 municipalities. Each design is different — Exeggutor surfing, Exeggutor with local landmarks, Exeggutor among other Pokémon. July 4th is even celebrated as "Exeggutor Day" (the date 7/4 can be read "nassy" in Japanese wordplay — Exeggutor's Japanese name).
Completing all 26 requires a car and roughly 2–3 days of dedicated driving — the lids stretch from the northern mountains to the southern coast. For most travelers, a realistic taste is the Miyazaki City → Aoshima → Nichinan coastal route: several lids along one of Kyushu's most beautiful drives, palm trees and Pacific Ocean the whole way.
🌴 Local tip
Combine the hunt with Aoshima Shrine (an island shrine surrounded by "Devil's Washboard" rock formations) and Miyazaki's famous chicken nanban for lunch. The manholes take you through the prefecture's best scenery anyway — that's the genius of the project.
Ibusuki — The Town That Became Eevee
✦ AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of the actual site
Ibusuki's coastline, with Mount Kaimon — "the Satsuma Fuji" — across the bay
This is my favorite piece of Japanese tourism wordplay: the town of Ibusuki (いぶすき), at the southern tip of Kagoshima, sounds remarkably like "Eevee-suki"(イーブイ好き) — "Eevee lover." The town leaned in completely.
Ibusuki now has nine Pokéfuta — Eevee and every one of its evolutions— scattered across town: at the station, the beaches, and scenic points. It's the only place in the world with the complete Eevee family on manhole covers, and the compact layout means you can collect all nine in half a day by rental bicycle or car.
And here's why this stop belongs on any Kyushu itinerary regardless of Pokémon: Ibusuki is famous for sand bathing (sunamushi)— being buried up to your neck in naturally steam-heated volcanic sand by the sea. It's one of the most unusual onsen experiences in Japan. Eevee hunt in the morning, sand bath in the afternoon, with Mount Kaimon — the "Satsuma Fuji" — on the horizon.
Fukuoka, Saga & Nagasaki — The Northern Circuit
🏮 Fukuoka — 8 lids in two clusters
Three lids in Dazaifu — conveniently placed around the famous Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine area, which you should visit anyway. Five more in Kitakyushu, the industrial-heritage city in the north. The Dazaifu cluster is the easiest Pokéfuta experience in all of Kyushu: 30 minutes from Hakata by train, three lids within walking distance, plus one of Japan's most important shrines and the famous umegae-mochi rice cakes.
🐱 Saga — the Meowth trio
Saga City has three lids featuring Meowth in its three regional forms— Kantonian, Alolan, and Galarian — installed in 2022. One sits in front of the Okuma Shigenobu Memorial Museum. A compact, walkable bonus if you're passing through Saga between Fukuoka and Nagasaki.
⛪ Nagasaki — 10 lids across the prefecture
Ten Pokéfuta spread across Nagasaki Prefecture, from the city to the islands. Pair the hunt with the region's extraordinary history — see our guide to Nagasaki's castles and Christian history.
The Oita Problem — An Honest Note from a Local
I live in Oita, so it pains me to report: as of 2026, Oita and Kumamoto are the only Kyushu prefectures with no Pokéfuta at all.
I have opinions about this. Oita is Japan's onsen capital — the steam-billowing "hells" of Beppu are practically a Pokémon habitat already. If any prefecture deserves a Fire-type ambassador, it's us. (Torkoal, if anyone from The Pokémon Company is reading: the volcano turtle. It's right there.)
Until that day comes, Oita's consolation prizes are excellent: Beppu's 2,800 hot springs, Harmonyland (the Sanrio park) for character-loving travelers, and the anime pilgrimage sites covered in our seichi junrei guide.
A Pokémon + Food Hunting Itinerary (3 Days)
The smart way to do this is to let the Pokémon hunting ride along with a normal Kyushu trip — the lids are at places worth visiting anyway, and Kyushu's real superpower is the food between them.
Day 1 — Fukuoka
Morning at Dazaifu: three Pokéfuta + Tenmangu shrine + umegae-mochi. Afternoon back in Hakata: Pokémon Center Fukuoka at Hakata Marui. Evening: tonkotsu ramen and the yatai stalls.
Day 2 — South to Kagoshima & Ibusuki
Kyushu Shinkansen to Kagoshima-Chuo (~1h20m), then express to Ibusuki. Collect all nine Eevee-family lids by rental bike, then the sand bath. Kagoshima kurobuta pork for dinner back in the city.
Day 3 — Miyazaki Coast
Drive or train to Miyazaki. Coastal Exeggutor lids along the Aoshima–Nichinan route, Aoshima Shrine, chicken nanban lunch, palm trees everywhere. Fly out of Miyazaki Airport or loop back.
Practical Hunting Tips
🗺️ Use the official map
The Pokémon Local Acts site has an official English manhole map with exact GPS locations for every lid in Japan. Screenshot the locations before heading to rural areas — signal can be spotty.
📱 Pokémon GO players
Most Pokéfuta are PokéStops with unique photo discs. Rural Kyushu also has noticeably less Pokémon GO competition for gyms than the big cities.
🚗 Car vs train
Fukuoka (Dazaifu) and Ibusuki work fine by public transport. Miyazaki's 26 lids realistically need a rental car — but the coastal driving is half the pleasure.
📷 Photographing the lids
Shoot from directly above, midday or bright shade for even light. After rain the colors pop beautifully. Be mindful of traffic — some lids are on actual roads.
🛍️ Regional merch strategy
Pokémon Center Fukuoka stocks Fukuoka-exclusive items. Regional exclusives are the ones that hold value and make the best gifts — buy them when you see them.
✅ Verify before you go
Lids are added (and occasionally relocated) regularly. Check the official map close to your travel dates — Kyushu's count keeps growing.
⚡
Pokémon hunting in Kyushu isn't a detour from real travel — it's a treasure map drawn over the island's best places.
The lids lead you to shrines, coastlines, and small towns you'd never otherwise visit. The food between them is the best in Japan. And unlike Tokyo's Pokémon spots, you'll often have these entirely to yourself.
Continue Exploring Kyushu