No to Pokemon Go: Sign put up at Japanese Cemetery Park catches netizen's attention

Since it dropped in 2016, mobile game Pokemon Go has been a massive hit in Singapore, with players scouring the island in an attempt to catch them all.

Hunting down Pokemons has led some to visit locations that aren't immediately associated with mobile games, such as the Japanese Cemetery Park in Hougang.

It has even led to an unusual notice being put up, discouraging visitors to the Park from playing Pokemon Go on site.

A photo of the announcement was uploaded on Tuesday (Jan 25) by Publicnoticesg, an Instagram account known for collating and publishing odd notices on their Instagram page. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CZIimarBb_m/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f662f2ba-5bad-4cf4-a039-60958813f616[/embed]

The notice by the Japanese Association of Singapore read: "The Japanese Cemetery Park is a site for those who rest in peace.

"Please respect them and do not enter the ground [sic] for Pokemon Go."

The Japanese Cemetery Park was built in 1891 and contains nearly 1,000 graves of Japanese civilians and soldiers in Singapore.

It holds the ashes of Japanese military personnel killed during World War II as well as the remains of Japanese war criminals who were executed at Changi Prison.

AsiaOne understands that the photo was taken last weekend by a user, credited in the post as Azrashazeaa.

A source confirmed to AsiaOne, however, that the notice isn't new, and has been spotted as far back as 2018. 

But it seems Hougang is quite the hotspot for Pokemon sightings within the game, which features the use of augmented reality.

In August 2016, Pokemon Go players were out in droves near Block 401 at Hougang Avenue 10 and Punggol Park, prompting the Hougang Neighbourhood Police Centre to respond with an advisory on their Facebook page.

ALSO READ: Gotta see 'em all: Singapore Tourism Board is using Pokemon Go to get people to visit local hotspots

amierul@asiaone.com