By Well, blimey!
- penned by PJ O’Reilly
Trafalgar Square in London will transform into an interactive Nintendo playground on 21 September when the Pikmin land as part of the city’s Japan Matsuri, the yearly festival spotlighting Japanese culture in Britain.
The Big N is urging everyone who drops by Japan Matsuri to whip out their phones and fire up Pikmin Bloom for a one-off in-app quest. Once you’re standing in Trafalgar Square, a unique walking mission pops up inside the game (perfect fit, since strolling is its whole vibe), handing over a virtual Gold Seedling that sprouts into a (semi-)rare Decor Pikmin to reward your real-world legwork.
This marks Nintendo’s debut Pikmin booth at the festival, and—per the press blurb—it’ll stock “a bunch of exclusive Decor Pikmin seedlings, among them a Mario-cap sprout and the hard-to-find Fortune Pikmin normally tethered to Japanese shrines and temples, obtainable in-app by hoofing it to set zones dotted around Trafalgar Square.”
Beyond the core stroll challenge, the stand will also pack an AR photo booth, letting you snap stills and clips alongside the plant-pals for a digital keepsake. Nice!
Keen to join? Pikmin Bloom costs nothing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. In the run-up to the London shindig (9–30 September) you can also tackle the ‘Walk Together with Japan Matsuri’ Party Walk event in-game.
And now, the vital bit! Catch the Pikmin Bloom Special In-App Challenge here:
- Spot: London Trafalgar Square, North Terrace
- Day: Sunday 21 September 2025
- Hours: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Fancy a trip to London for Japan Matsuri? Tell us below!
PJ scribbles for Hookshot Media. He’s been glued to controllers since the early ’80s—basically forever. RPGs, brain-teasers and sprawling solo quests are his jam, the stranger the better.