Lucky Pokémon fans will soon be able to experience a glamping fantasy in Japan’s northernmost prefecture. Select trainers can get ready to catch some serious Zzzs inside giant Poké Balls nestled amid Hokkaido’s wild forests.
Local hospitality company NOT A HOTEL has teamed up with the Pokémon Sleep app to launch a unique retreat, officially dubbed the Poké Ball-Themed Hotel, next month. Just as Poké Balls offer Pokémon a cosy haven in the anime universe, the structure aims to provide humans with deep rest and tranquillity through unique architecture and technology.
More comprehensive details about the “Stayable Poké Ball” experience will drop on Sept. 15 when organisers will also reveal how fans can apply to take part in this limited campaign and win the chance of an exclusive overnight stay. The precise spot remains secret, “somewhere in Hokkaido.” No public viewing is planned.
“This accommodation experience is a special event for campaign winners,” NOT A HOTEL clarified in a news release.
'Pokémon Sleep' y NOT A HOTEL han creado una Poké Ball en la que se podrá pasar la noche en Hokkaido.
Habrá una campaña para optar a la estancia. Está previsto que los detalles para participar se anuncien el 15 de septiembre.#Japón #Pokemon pic.twitter.com/zLEmnfWruM
— Gaijintacle | Retazos de Japón (@gaijintacle) September 1, 2026
Read more: Google launches limited edition Pokémon Sleep-themed Fitbit Air
Japan’s first fully-dedicated Pokémon lodging
Until now Japan has offered only pockets of Pokémon magic inside otherwise ordinary hotels.
MIMARU’s apartment-style properties across Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka feature rooms packed with more than 100 Pokémon, giant Snorlax stuffies sprawled across the beds, Poké Ball tableware and décor that places Water-types like Squirtle in the bathroom.
Elsewhere, temporary collaborations such as Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s summer suites have delivered giant plushies of Pokémon like Lapras for a limited season.
Though not a permanent fixture according to available info, the Stayable Poké Ball stands apart as Japan’s first wholly dedicated Pokémon-themed lodging. It will provide entire human-scale spheres rather than decorated rooms inside conventional buildings.
NOT A HOTEL’s unconventional style is not new
This collaboration fits the brand’s refusal to build ordinary hotels. NOT A HOTEL develops distinctive villas designed by leading architects. These can be partly owned and also used as exclusive places to stay for other guests.
One standout example of another unique site that NOT A HOTEL developed and operates is Sou Fujimoto’s EARTH on Ishigaki Island, a single circular villa buried into a vast private site so completely that its green roof makes the entire building vanish into the landscape from above.
Despite the partnership with Pokémon Sleep, organisers have not specified any direct integration with the sleep-tracking app itself. Aspiring trainers who are fortunate enough to win the campaign will simply have to wait until mid-September to discover exactly what awaits inside these red-and-white spheres.
Read more: Gotta catch some Z’s! Pokémon Sleep now compatible with smartwatches
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