PokePark Kanto, the first permanent theme park based on the popular Japanese video game series Pocket Monster, or Pokemon, opened inside the Yomiuriland amusement park straddling Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture on Thursday.

The new facility comprises two areas – a forest area where guests can interact with Pokemon characters and a town area with attractions such as shows and rides. Visitors can find more than 600 characters in the two areas.

“I am so happy to commemorate (the opening of PokePark Kanto) this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of Pokemon,” Kenjiro Ito, chairman of the facility operator, said at an opening ceremony held the same day. The ceremony included a ribbon-cutting event featuring well-known characters Pikachu and Eevee.

Many visitors lined up before the facility opened its gates at 10 a.m. “I’ve been looking forward to today,” said a woman in her 30s from Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo. (PNA)