A giant Poké Ball now sits on the lakeside in Tomakomai City, on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido — and for once, it's not a photo prop but an actual place to sleep. Design studio NOT A HOTEL has built a three-metre-wide spherical pod in partnership with Pokémon Sleep, the sleep-tracking mobile game, to mark 30 years of Pokémon and three years of the app.

The design leans fully into the theme. Inside the round pod there's a circular bed positioned beneath a curved acrylic window, so guests can lie back and watch the water. The Pokémon touches go beyond the shell: the bathroom area next to the pod is tiled in Snorlax's blue-and-cream colour scheme, and an iPad in the room lets guests pick their favourite Pokémon, triggering lighting changes to match. It's a small, playful detail that turns a novelty stay into something a bit more immersive.

Here's the catch for anyone already checking flights to Sapporo: you can't just book it. The pod is a promotional concept, and stays are being given away through a competition run on X (formerly Twitter). Eligibility is limited to residents of Japan who use the Pokémon Sleep app, so international fans are, for now, spectators. Winners get a free one-night stay, with nights taking place between 8 and 18 October.

That said, the project is worth paying attention to even if you can't enter. NOT A HOTEL is known for unusual, design-forward stay concepts across Japan, and this collaboration signals how far brands will go to blur the line between gaming, retail spectacle and hospitality. If the Poké Ball proves popular online — and early coverage suggests it has — it wouldn't be surprising to see similar one-off gaming tie-in stays appear elsewhere, or for the concept to be extended to a wider audience down the line.

For Pokémon fans planning a Hokkaido trip anyway, Tomakomai is a reasonable base: it's a port city near Lake Utonai and within easy reach of both Sapporo and the volcano-and-lakes country around Lake Toya. Even without a night in the ball, the region delivers — dairy-heavy Hokkaido food, hot springs and some of Japan's best summer weather.

So: not bookable, unless you're a Japanese Pokémon Sleep user feeling lucky. But a genuinely fun bit of travel design news, and a reminder that Japan's knack for themed accommodation keeps finding new ways to surprise. Keep an eye on NOT A HOTEL's next project if you like your hotels with a side of nostalgia.