Stay at a hotel with a bed for your plushie in Japan

Complete with tiny matching pyjamas for your little friend.

The world of fandom is vast and varied in Japan – on one hand you have fans who might show a casual interest in an actor , idol , VTuber , or anime character , and then on the other, you have diehard fans who engage in what’s known as “ oshi-katsu ”.

Equivalent to the English slang term “ stanning ” – katsu means “ activities ” while oshi refers to the character or person you’re “stanning” – this level of fandom is reserved for those who go to great lengths to support the object of their affections at any given opportunity, investing time , effort and money into the activity, and treating it like a passionate pasttime .

One of the ways to show your love in the oshi-katsu world is by buying merch dedicated to your favourite idol or character, often in the form of a plushie , known as “ nuigurumi ” (“ nui ” for short) in Japanese.

Nuigurumi are great for snuggling up to at night, and you can even take them out on trips with you, both near and far.

It’s a passion that Japanese business hotel chain Toyoko Inn clearly understands, as it’s been officially catering to guests and their plushies since autumn 2025 , when it started the “ Oshi-Katsu Support Plan ”.

A lot of fans would have stayed at Toyoko Inn for oshi events and concerts , so it’s a clever idea to create an accommodation plan geared towards them.

There are actually two types of Oshi-Katsu Support Plans offered by Toyoko Inn – one is the “ Relax & Recharge – Oshi Edition”, which comes with a free pack of foot care sheets, bath salts, and a heated eye mask to help you “unwind after a day of oshi-katsu”, while the other is the “Oshi-Katsu Sleepover Plan – Stay with Your Favorite Plushie!”, which gives you and your nui separate beds in the same room for the night. ▼ The stay is ideal for acrylic standees too, as this poster at the front desk reads: “ We’ve started renting beds for plushies and acrylic stands. ” Our own reporter Maro, who has a few nuis of her own, was excited to try the Sleepover Plan , and when she learned that her plushie’s stay would cost a meagre 300 yen (US$1.88) on top of her room fee, she felt so heartened by the customer service that she packed several of her favourite plushies to join her on the sleepover.

Booking a stay for her and her plushie was a unique experience in itself, but when she got to the front desk, she was even more delighted when staff handed her a mesh bag at check-in, containing bedding and nightwear for her plush character .

While the stay is generally designed for one plushie, you could take several and let them share or rotate during your stay.