A Giant Poké Ball Hotel Is Coming To Hokkaido This September

If you have ever wondered what it might feel like to actually sleep inside a Poké Ball, Japan is about to give you the answer. A giant, stayable Poké Ball is coming to Hokkaido this September, turning one of Pokémon’s most recognisable objects into an actual place to spend the night.

The unusual project comes from a collaboration between Pokémon Sleep, the sleep-tracking game launched in 2023, and Japanese hospitality company NOT A HOTEL. The idea is simple enough: if a Poké Ball is supposed to be a comfortable place for Pokémon, why shouldn’t humans get the same treatment?

What We Know About The Poké Ball Hotel

The accommodation, referred to as the “Poké Ball-Themed Hotel”, will appear somewhere amid Hokkaido’s natural landscape. Its exact location has not been disclosed yet, although the promotional material shows the spherical structure surrounded by greenery and wide natural views.

The collaboration is also taking the idea of sleep seriously. According to the teaser, the experience has been designed around details such as light, sound, airflow and bedding, all of which are central to creating a comfortable sleeping environment. The interior, however, remains largely under wraps for now.

And this is not going to be another themed hotel that you can simply book online whenever you happen to be in Japan.

Pokémon Is Becoming A Hotel Experience In Japan

Pokémon is increasingly moving from screens and shelves into Japan’s hospitality and travel spaces. One of the clearest examples is MIMARU’s Pokémon Rooms, where guests stay in specially designed rooms featuring around 100 Pokémon across the interiors, along with themed furnishings and amenities. The rooms are available at participating MIMARU properties in cities including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

The trend extends beyond dedicated Pokémon rooms. Hotels have been using the franchise for limited-edition stays and experiences, while the wider Pokémon brand continues to build physical attractions across Japan. PokéPark KANTO, the first permanent Pokémon-themed park, opened in February 2026, adding another large-scale real-world experience to the franchise’s growing footprint.

The scale of the audience helps explain why Pokémon works so well as a travel experience. The Pokémon Company says Pokémon-related video games had shipped more than 489 million copies worldwide by March 2025, while the Pokémon Trading Card Game had produced more than 75 billion cards, sold in more than 90 countries and regions. The animated series, meanwhile, has aired in more than 190 countries and regions.

How Can You Stay Inside It?

For now, the Poké Ball stay is being offered through a special campaign, with accommodation reserved for selected winners rather than regular hotel guests. The full details, including how to enter, are scheduled to be announced on September 15, 2026.

That also means travellers should not start planning a Hokkaido itinerary around a bookable Poké Ball stay just yet. The hotel will not be open to the general public during the campaign period.

For Pokémon Sleep, which turns sleeping into part of the gameplay experience, the collaboration is a rather fitting leap from the digital world into the real one. For everyone else, it raises a more practical question: how do you check out of a Poké Ball without catching them all first?

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