Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Center

Ordering from the screen and watching plates arrive is half the entertainment, and there are plenty of non sushi choices.

Nine room types, from a Pokémon room with loft beds to high-floor city view suites with their own washer-dryers, near department stores and anime shops.

Pokémon goods with a Pokémon Card Station attached, and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe in the same mall.

Penguins in a rooftop garden that look like they're flying over the city, plus great white pelicans and sea lion shows.

Free rides on a mini steam train, a tricycle yard, a sandbox and a covered kids' house with a ball pit, for kids up to the early grades.

Artificial mist rolls through the Meiji-era garden like a sea of clouds, with a three-story pagoda rising above it and a thousand lights after dark.