For nearly three decades, Pokémon fans have wondered what it actually feels like to get recalled into a Poké Ball. Is it cramped? Is it cozy? Is there air-conditioning? So many questions.
Well, we finally have an answer, and it looks a lot more like high-end architectural glamping than we thought.
To celebrate Pokémon’s 30th anniversary and the ongoing success of its sleep-tracking app Pokémon Sleep, The Pokémon Company has teamed up with high-concept hospitality disruptor NOT A HOTEL to build a literal Poké Ball-themed hotel in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.
The concept, titled Tomareru Monster Ball ("A Poké Ball You Can Sleep In"), isn't just a kitschy hotel room plastered with character wallpaper. It is a standalone, hyper-custom spherical pavilion perched right on the edge of a serene forest lake.
The Pokémon theme hotel will be located in Hokkaido, Japan.
High Architecture Meets Pocket Monsters
Known for crafting modernist villas with world-class architects like Bjarke Ingels, NOT A HOTEL brought serious design pedigree to the project.
Designed by NOT A HOTEL ARCHITECTS, the structure is a three-meter-wide sphere engineered from precision-molded acrylic domes and fitted with curved sliding doors that shut flush against the frame. Inside, the designers ditched standard hotel furniture for a bespoke circular bed fitted with a custom NELL Mattress, packing a staggering 2,350 pocket coils to cushion tired trainers.
NOT A HOTEL ditches the traditional room and built the room with custom build furniture
A massive curved panoramic window cuts across the face of the orb, giving guests a front-row view of Hokkaido’s mist-covered woods while they lie in bed. The adjacent washroom keeps the theme rolling at full volume, decked out in custom tiles matching Snorlax’s trademark deep teal-blue.
Snorlax welcomes you in over the large panoramic window and circular bed. Comfy!
Smart Lights and Ambient Sleep Tech
Because this is a tie-in with Pokémon Sleep, rest optimization is baked into the room's tech stack.
The hotel leans towards the highly successful Pokémon Sleep app
The hotel features a custom smart-room interface developed in-house by NOT A HOTEL. Using an in-room tablet, guests can select their favorite Pokémon before turning in. When it’s lights-out, the capsule’s ambient lighting automatically shifts to match the color palette and mood of your chosen companion, creating an immersive, bedtime sound-and-light ritual.
The built-in tablet lets you control all the functions in the room
Catch It If You Can
Don't rush to your booking apps just yet. You can’t simply pull out a credit card and reserve a night.
The stay is an ultra-exclusive pilot available solely through an official Pokémon Sleep lottery campaign running through September 30, 2026. Only 10 lucky pairs of winners will score an all-expenses-covered, one-night retreat inside the sphere, complete with dinner and breakfast.
It’s an undeniably wild flex of experiential marketing that sits squarely at the crossroads of gaming culture, luxury wellness, and modern Japanese architecture. Snorlax would undoubtedly approve.
If you want to checkout Pokémon’s official announcement for the hotel, you can check out their promotional video on YouTube here: Link
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