Christina Jelski
If you ask my 8-year-old son what his top bucket-list destination is, he'll likely say Japan.
But it's not the food, arcades or bullet trains that are the main draw. For him, Japan is the Pokemon mecca, birthplace of the famous "pocket monsters" and home to card shops, themed cafes and, now, the world's first permanent Pokemon theme park.
Concurrent with the franchise's 30th anniversary this year, PokePark Kanto opened inside Tokyo's Yomiuriland amusement park in February. The themed land spans roughly 6 acres, split between a nature trail featuring more than 600 Pokemon and a town center with rides, shows and a Pokemon Center retail experience.
PokePark Kanto tickets sell out quickly and are currently completely booked through at least mid-July.
Hotels have also been finding ways to capitalize on the franchise's tourism pull.
Mimaru, a Japanese apartment-style hotel brand catering to families and groups, introduced themed Pokemon Rooms across eight of its properties in 2019. The concept has proven so popular that the brand recently renovated its existing Pokemon Rooms and added them at two more properties. There is now a total of 50 Pokemon Rooms at 10 hotels across Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
Each apartment-style Pokemon Room features 100 Pokemon integrated into the room's design as well as a giant Snorlax plush, Poke Ball-inspired tableware and exclusive Mimaru novelty items, including a Snorlax-adorned bag. Rooms start at around $450 per night and, on average, book out roughly two months in advance.
And while most guests of the themed rooms are families with children, a Mimaru spokesperson estimated that around 30% are adult Pokemon fans.
At the luxury end, the Grand Hyatt Tokyo is marking the brand's milestone with a Pokemon 30th Anniversary Grand Adventure Suite experience, starting at roughly $2,700 a night. Available for stays between June 20 and Aug. 24, the package includes a suite decorated with 30 Pikachu plushies, a Pokemon-themed in-room dinner and a breakfast featuring Pikachu-stamped pancakes, among other Pokemon-related perks.
Up until now, I've largely managed to avoid Pokemon fever. I missed out on the initial Pokemon frenzy of the late 1990s, leaving the card collecting and gaming to my younger brother. Fast forward nearly two decades, and I watched from the sidelines with mild amusement as adults gathered in groups on street corners, glued to their phones, during the global Pokemon Go craze of 2016.
Then, my son entered my life. And when your kid is truly obsessed with something, resistance is futile.
But the Pokemon world my son has inducted me into is considerably bigger and more sophisticated than the one I sidestepped in the 1990s.
Amid the pandemic, Pokemon cards enjoyed a massive resurgence in popularity, particularly among adults, with a mix of nostalgia and social media fueling their rise as a serious collectible asset. Case in point: My son's card shop of choice is the decidedly upscale Trainer Court in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, where fans of all ages can sidle up to a Pack Bar and order card packs from a Packtender.
For a franchise with such a rabid following, I'm surprised that Pokemon's inroads into theme parks and hotels have been fairly limited so far.
According to License Global's 2025 Top Global Licensors report, Pokemon generated $12 billion in licensed retail sales in 2024, placing it seventh among the world's top licensors. For comparison, Warner Bros. Discovery, whose portfolio spans DC, Harry Potter and more, reported a combined $15 billion in licensed retail sales in 2024.
And in terms of growth rate, Pokemon outpaced No. 1 licensor Disney over the past five years, adding $7.8 billion in retail sales compared to Disney's $7.3 billion gain over the same period.
With just one relatively modest permanent theme park and a few hotel partnerships under its belt, my guess is that the Pokemon brand has barely scratched the surface of its tourism potential.