You can actually stay in a Poké Ball? Pokémon Sleep × NOT A HOTEL lands in Hokkaido, and money alone won’t get you a booking!
Pokémon fans are going to lose it!
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to “live in the world of Pokémon,” someone has made that vision a reality. Japanese design-focused hospitality brand NOT A HOTEL has announced a collaboration with the sleep game “Pokémon Sleep” to create Poké Ball-Themed Hotel, a giant Poké Ball-shaped accommodation in Hokkaido. This isn’t a room with a few Pokémon plushies or a limited-time themed room; the Poké Ball itself has been turned into a real building where you can spend the night. Even the exterior revealed so far has people wondering what might be inside.
- Related reading: Pokémon understands what girls like, too: Pikachu and Sylveon Polaroids are basically this season’s cutest accessories!
A Poké Ball is a place for Pokémon to rest, so what happens when people stay in one?
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The concept behind this project is an unexpectedly good fit for “Pokémon Sleep.” Starting with the idea that a Poké Ball is a place where Pokémon can rest easy, the team hopes to turn that same sense of comfort and rest into a space where people can actually stay. Through NOT A HOTEL’s architectural design and technology, an object from the game world is being brought into real life. In the images released so far, a giant red-and-white Poké Ball appears amid Hokkaido’s natural landscape, looking so familiar it feels a little unreal. For now, though, the interior design, room layout, and Pokémon Sleep surprises guests might encounter are all being kept secret.
This isn’t a “Pokémon-themed room” – the building itself is a Poké Ball.
Pokémon has had plenty of collaborations with fashion, home goods, and hotels in recent years, yet what makes this one appealing is that NOT A HOTEL hasn’t simply placed character graphics in an existing space. Instead, it has reimagined the Pokémon world through the building itself. Known for creating unconventional stays through distinctive architecture, NOT A HOTEL has placed the instantly recognizable Poké Ball silhouette amid Hokkaido’s natural scenery, making it something between an art installation, an architectural work, and a place to stay. For Pokémon fans, rather than staying in a hotel with Pokémon, this feels more like temporarily becoming a Pokémon and sleeping in a Poké Ball of your own.
Money alone won’t get you a stay: September 15 is the key date.
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Don’t start searching for room rates just yet, because Poké Ball-Themed Hotel won’t be open for regular bookings. Stays will be offered through a limited event, and only lucky winners selected by lottery will get to experience it. It won’t be open to the general public during the event either. So what does this “livable Poké Ball” actually look like? The answer will be revealed soon. The full property is set to be unveiled on September 15, 2026, and the special website has also announced that applications for the event will open that day. Somewhere in Hokkaido, with no interior details released and no way to book directly, the more the team keeps under wraps, the more anticipation it builds. Pokémon fans have one more thing to set a reminder for on September 15!
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