Japan Pokemon Hotel Review: My Family’s Stay in the Kyoto Room (MIMARU)
Last Updated on February 3, 2026 by Kay
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What is it like to stay in a Pokémon-themed hotel room in Japan, and is it worth it?
If you or your kids are Pokémon fans, you’ll be thrilled to know that there are Pokémon-themed hotel rooms in Japan, run by a company called MIMARU. This company offers apartment hotels, meaning the rooms are just like those in a modern Japanese apartment and are more spacious than typical hotel rooms in Japan.
I’ve stayed at MIMARU before (in Osaka) and had a wonderful experience, so when I had the chance to stay at one of their super popular Pokémon rooms with my family, I jumped at the chance because my daughter is a massive fan. I didn’t tell her beforehand because I wanted it to be a surprise, and well, it was absolutely worth it.
In this article, I’ll share my family’s experience staying at one of the Pokémon rooms. Hopefully, by the end, you can decide whether it’s worth your time and money to stay at as well.
Table of Contents
Overview
MIMARU offers Pokémon rooms in several locations. We decided to stay at one of their locations in Kyoto, specifically Kyoto Nishinotoin Takatsuji.
The reason we chose this particular branch is its central location. It’s in the center of the city, so it’s quite convenient, but just far enough from main streets that it’s quiet and not crowded whatsoever. The last thing we wanted was to struggle to find places to eat without a reservation or have to push through crowds with our luggage, which can happen in Kyoto if you’re on a main street.
It was super easy for us to get to and from MIMARU Kyoto Nishinotoin Takatsuji via train, as it’s a 7-minute walk from Shijo Station and 12-minutes from Karasuma Station, as well as only six minutes on foot from the closest bus stop.
Check-in Experience
Just like my stay at their Osaka location, the check-in experience at MIMARU Kyoto Nishinotoin Takatsuji was wonderful. There was no wait to check-in and I got my room key very quickly. The staff were very welcoming and professional, ready to answer any questions and concerns I had.
My husband had also dropped off our luggage earlier in the day, and they had kindly already taken it to our room by the time we arrived.
While I was checking in (which didn’t take long, by the way), my daughter was checking out the free rental items (pictured above) and asked if we could borrow Twister. She had never played it before, so it surprised me that she wanted it! I also decided to borrow a hair straightener because I forgot mine.
There are so many other great free rental items at MIMARU that there is something for everyone. For instance, my daughter got a game, I got a beauty item, and my husband rented an Apple TV device, which he used in the room for his work.
There are also traditional Japanese games at the entrance, like kendama, so make sure you check these out and feel free to give them a try!
MIMARU offers a stamp challenge for kids, where if they do various things in Kyoto, they can accumulate stamps. If they get three stamps, they can turn the gatcha capsule machine and get a prize!
Since the hotel is trying to be more sustainable, they don’t have many amenities in each room. However, you can ask for things such as slippers (including children’s ones) and toothbrushes at the front desk.
Here are what the slippers looked like after we laid them out in our room.
You can also pick up skincare, tea, and coffee, as well as nightgown-style pajamas, at the amenity corner near the elevator. My only complaint is that they don’t have pajamas for kids, which is a shame since MIMARU is great for families.
MIMARU also offers rental strollers, a one-day bus/subway pass for Kyoto, and luggage delivery services for an additional cost so you don’t need to haul your suitcase to your next destination in Kansai or Tokyo.
You can also have your suitcases sent straight to Kansai International Airport, which is pretty convenient, especially if you have a late flight and want to explore before heading home. Note that you must arrange your luggage delivery by 11:00 AM before the day you want your luggage to be delivered, and you must then drop it off by 9 AM on the day.
The first floor of the hotel has a spacious laundry room with three washers and three dryers. These are all coin-operated, and there’s a money changer in the room so you don’t have to worry if you only have bills.
There are also two washer-dryer combo machines, which are great when you don’t have time to wait for a load of laundry to finish or you don’t want to go through the trouble of moving wet clothes into the dryer.
I also loved this table, which you can use to fold your laundry. (And there are laundry baskets as well!)
Lastly, MIMARU offers breakfast bentos that you can eat in your room, including one for children. You need to order this by 6 PM the day before.
The Pokémon Room and Stay
Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for… So what was it like staying in a Pokémon hotel room?
Our Pokémon room was located on the top floor of the hotel. I gave my daughter the card key and told her to open the door.
My daughter absolutely freaked out (in a good way) when she saw the room. Screaming and jumping happily, saying “thank you, Mama, thank you! I dreamed of this!” repeatedly (no, I am not making this up, this is actually what she said, but in Japanese). I hadn’t seen her this excited in a while, and this girl is pretty spoiled when it comes to going to fun places in Japan (since we live in the country).
The Pokémon room is very beautifully and thoughtfully decorated. There are dozens of Pokémon decorating the walls, and my daughter was so excited to find and name each one.
She also noticed different Pokémon footprints on the floor throughout the room, which was such a clever thing for MIMARU to do when designing the room.
Even the shower room and bath had Pokémon (of course, water type)!
The Pokémon room came with four twin beds, which were more than enough for our family of three.
And, in the center of two of the twin beds was Snorlax (called Kabigon in Japanese), which was my daughter’s favorite part of the Pokémon room. Now, typically, Snorlax rests against the pillows on the bed, but I asked MIMARU if they could place him near the center of the bed.
After each guest checks out of the Pokémon room, Snorlax is cleaned by regularly dusting the surface, disinfecting, and air-drying. When stains become noticeable, the MIMARU staff spot-cleans him with detergent. Additionally, they send them to a professional cleaning service on a regular basis.
I feel like this should be enough for most guests not to worry about Snorlax’s cleanliness, but I’m a bit extra about bedding hygiene, so I asked if Snorlax could be placed away from the pillows. So before my stay, I asked MIMARU if they could place Snorlax away from the pillows. They were happy to oblige but did point out that Snorlax would be lying down since he needed the pillows to “sit up”. I was completely okay with this, though!
At first, I had placed Snorlax on the bench seating at the dining table.
But I ended up sleeping with my husband and daughter on two of the twin beds (which were together, making it very spacious), and I designated the other two twin beds to Snorlax, which my daughter absolutely loved because she could lie on him.
Speaking of the dining table, this was my husband’s favorite part of the room. Of course, it’s Pokémon themed, with a huge standard red and white Poké Ball on it. But it’s also really spacious. We stayed in the Pokémon room for three days and two nights, and my husband worked from that table on one of the days and said it was really helpful.
On the table above, you might have noticed a little package. Well, we got some freebies with our stay! We got three different bags, including a laundry bag (perfect for taking down to the laundry room), as well as a Pokémon sticker.
These are Pokémon goods you can only get when staying at MIMARU’s Pokémon room, which makes them extra special. (And one of the bags had Mew on it, my daughter’s favorite!)
The room also comes with a small kitchenette, which is partially hidden by a sliding door.
Don’t worry, the door slides all the way to the other side (covering Exeggutor) so you can comfortably use the two-burner IH stove.
In the cupboards, you’ll find pots and pans, a cutting board, a knife, plates, bowls, mugs, glasses, cutlery, and cooking utensils.
The cutting board was perfect for slicing up fruits, and then sharing them among the three of us for breakfast.
And of course, the mugs and some of the plates have Poke Balls on them, which we happily used for breakfast.
They also had two large (for Japan standards) garbage bins, one for cans and bottles, and another for burnable garbage.
There is a spacious fridge right next to the kitchenette that has a freezer at the bottom and a microwave on the top.
Here is all the room you have inside the fridge, which you can stock for long stays.
(If you’re traveling with kids, make sure to read my article on what I get my child from the grocery store in Japan.)
The room even has a recipe card where you can try to make some Pokémon-themed dishes!
I think my only complaint with the kitchenette is that there was no hand soap, only dish soap. However, the washroom was only two steps away, so we washed our hands there.
The washroom sink was spacious with plenty of counter space and had a standard Panasonic hair dryer, gargling cups, as well as several different kinds of towels (hand, face, and bath).
The shower had both a standard adjustable showerhead and a rainshower, as well as shampoo, conditioner, and body soap that had essential oils in them.
The toilet is a standard washlet and doesn’t have any Pokémon decor. I liked that it was separated from the bath; this is a must for me when staying at a hotel in Japan.
In terms of storage, there are four hooks for jackets.
However, one of the hangers is right above the light switches and the air conditioner panel.
Given this, I feel like they should have moved the hooks over a little; otherwise, long jackets will cover the switches and control panel. I did, however, appreciate how easy it was to hang and then grab our jackets when needed. You can hang bags on these hooks as well.
There is also a pretty spacious open closet, one of the largest I’ve seen throughout my many stays at hotels in Japan, although it’s right at the foot of two of the twin beds, and there isn’t much room in between to walk. Only one person can go at a time.
Near one of the beds, there is also a clip hanger if you need to try delicates that you would rather not put in the dryer downstairs.
In terms of our sleep, my entire family slept comfortably through the night, despite the fact that the bed was a little firmer than we are used to. I like soft pillows, so I was glad that the pillows were very comfortable. Each bed has two pillows, so you can stack them if you like.
One thing that surprised me was that I heard absolutely nothing throughout the night when we were in the beds. Japanese hotels can be notorious for having thin walls, so you can hear your neighbors quite easily. But my husband and I heard absolutely nothing. We could hear people in the hallway when we were at the kitchen table, but not at the beds. Personally, this was a huge plus for us.
The blinds also block out the sunlight very effectively, so you can sleep in late if you want. This can be both a good and a bad thing. If you like natural light and want to open the window to see a view, you won’t get that with the Pokémon room. But this didn’t bother us since my daughter and I used the room mainly for sleeping, and my husband found it easier to work on his PC without the glare of sunlight.
In terms of the shower, I found the water pressure for the showerhead could have been a little stronger, and for some reason, the first set of towels we used was a little scratchy (the second set was perfect, though).
The bath was perfect, though, and my daughter got the chance to use a Pokémon bath ball (which we bought from EDION) in a Pokémon-themed bath, which was an absolute dream for her.
She got Axew!
What’s Near the Hotel
As mentioned earlier, the hotel is near two train stations and several bus stops that will take you everywhere you need to go in Kyoto. Notably, the hotel is less than a 10-minute walk from Pokémon Center Kyoto!
If you decide to cook in your room, you can buy groceries from the Family Mart nearby (we got a package of Family Mart brand drip coffee from here, which was fantastic, as well as bread and bananas) or from supermarkets.
The hotel is also within walking distance of several amazing restaurants. We had dinner at Sukemasa, which had received a Michelin Bib Gourmand award a few years back, and it was delicious. It’s also only eight minutes from Burger Revolution, which my family absolutely adores.
Overall Impressions of the Pokémon Room in MIMARU
Overall, we had a good stay at the Pokémon room in MIMARU. My daughter especially loved her time there and said she didn’t want to leave (several times throughout our stay), and she even cried when we had to check out. We told her that we might stay again for her birthday, though, and she brightened up immediately.
So, it goes without saying that if you have a Pokémon-loving child, staying here will be an unforgettable memory for them.
The room is also a great price when considering the size (40 square meters, so we could comfortably play Twister), the fact that there’s a kitchenette, and the location.
I do think some of the bath towels could have been softer, though, and I would love it if they provided pajamas for kids.
But all in all, it was absolutely worth the stay for our family.
Check availability and find out more about the Pokémon room I stayed at here.
There are also plenty of other Pokémon rooms located throughout Japan: