西武・プリンスホテルズワールドワイドは7月10日、箱根仙石原プリンスホテル（神奈川県箱根町仙石原）がテニスコートの一部をピックルボール専用コートに整備し、7月1日から11月30日までの期間限定でプレー環境を提供すると発表しました。料金は1面1時間1,000円で、パドル・ボール・シューズはすべて無料貸出。避暑地リゾートが夏のアクティビティとして新競技を取り込む動きで、都心の常設施設とは違う「滞在の付加価値」としてのピックルボール活用が見えてきます。西武グループはすでにturning a banquet hall at Shinagawa Prince Hotel into courts, and Hakone is the group's second move.
Tennis court No. 4 becomes a summer venue: what was announced
The terms published are simple. Play takes place on court No. 4 of the hotel's four tennis courts, with part of it marked off for pickleball. Hours run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., by reservation. The run is July 1 to November 30, and the hotel says it may extend depending on demand.
Price and equipment are what catch the eye. At ¥1,000 per court per hour, sharing a court among several people brings the cost per person down considerably, and because paddles, balls, and shoes are lent free, guests who arrive empty-handed can start on the spot. Opening the “just hit a few” experience at no cost to beginners who own no gear is the heart of this pricing.
The ground in Hakone is set, and tournaments have started moving
導入は思いつきではありません。6月には箱根で初のピックルボール大会「箱根カップ」が開かれており、観光地としての箱根に競技の下地ができつつあるタイミングでの提供開始です。テニス・卓球・バドミントンの要素を併せ持ち、テニスより一回り小さいコートで、穴の開いたプラスチックボールを使う。ルールが平易で運動量も調整しやすいため、家族三世代でも成立するのがリゾート向きの理由です。
The tailwind from the market itself is strong. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States for four straight years, and participation reached roughly 24 million in 2025. That is more than a fivefold jump from about 4.2 million in 2020 in just five years, and resort operators in Japan have started using the wave as a reason to bring guests in. In Vietnam, too,the Sheraton Da Nang has put courts next to the beach and begun selling "holidays you can play", and resorts paired with pickleball have become a trend that crosses borders.
The economics of turning one tennis court into four pickleball courts
Why are existing tennis courts the first place operators look? The reason is efficiency of space. A single tennis court holds up to four pickleball courts, so the same patch of ground suddenly yields far more bookable slots. In the United States, more than 28,000 new courts have appeared since 2018, many of them replacing tennis-only space. Below are the terms offered by resorts in Japan.
| Facility | Format | Price per court per hour | Equipment rental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel | Converted tennis court, limited period | 1,000 yen | Paddles, balls and shoes free |
| Rusutsu Resort (Hokkaido) | 8 dedicated courts, seasonal operation | ¥3,000 | Paddle and ball 350 yen |
| Shinagawa Prince Hotel (Tokyo) | Permanent indoor courts | Varies by facility | Full rental available |
Hakone's 1,000 yen is an aggressive price even next to the 3,000 yen at Rusutsu, which built dedicated courts from scratch. It is the conversion model, switching an existing asset over for the summer instead of building new, that lets the hotel carry that price in its books. Courts in Hokkaido have grown from the same idea, andthe story of how Rusutsu's eight dedicated courts grew into a title-sponsored tournamentshows that resort courts need not end as mere recreation.
How serious operators are getting
Looking across this summer's moves, Japan's resort and lodging industry is starting to bet on the sport in step with one another.
- Seibu Group — after the permanent indoor courts in Shinagawa, it fired a second shot in Hakone with a low-cost conversion of existing tennis courts
- Rusutsu Resort — Hokkaido's first eight dedicated courts, run seasonally from late April through October, have grown into the venue for a title-sponsored tournament
- The US market — SFIA data naming it the fastest-growing sport for four straight years, and roughly 24 million players in 2025, is pushing investment decisions by operators in Japan
In Hakone's case, the design is deliberately soft: extend the run if demand holds, pull out at the end of summer if it does not. Because the tennis courts can revert to their old use in winter, the hotel can test the market without taking on lasting risk.
Three things operators can take from Hakone's move
For businesses that run lodging or sports facilities, Hakone's setup offers three points worth taking home.
First,The first is uncovering demand for a "holiday you can play". Hakone has long been a stay-focused resort built around hot springs and nature, but adding a sport you can start for 1,000 yen an hour gives guests another way to fill an empty hour after the rain or a spare day on a multi-night stay. It does not replace the main purpose of the trip; it slips light exercise into the gaps of a stay. Going after that incidental demand is what decisively separates it from destination facilities in the city.
Second,The second is a fresh look at tennis court assets. Countless courts across Japan have slack in their utilization as tennis participation plateaus. Given the conversion efficiency of turning one court into as many as four, and the reversibility of a single line and one net, operators can test the sport for far less than building new. Renting an idle tennis court out to another sport for the summer applies beyond hotels, to sports clubs and municipal facilities as well.
Third,The third is removing the barrier to entry by lending gear for free. Much of pickleball's potential audience has never played and owns no gear, and paying for a paddle and shoes at the very first step becomes a psychological wall. Hakone waived that cost because getting people to hit first and turning them into fans mattered more than short-term rental revenue. Early in a sport's spread, when the goal is to grow the number of people who have tried it, removing the equipment hurdle works.
Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel pickleball at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Facility | Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel (1246 Sengokuhara, Hakone, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa) |
| Operator | Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide |
| Venues | Part of tennis court No. 4 fitted out for pickleball use |
| Period | July 1 to November 30, 2026 (possible extension) |
| Hours | 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. / reservation required |
| Price | 1,000 yen per court per hour |
| Rental | Paddles, balls and shoes provided free |
Wrap-up: two things to check next
The move by the Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel is a practical model: it connects the tennis courts resorts tend to leave idle to a fast-growing sport while keeping investment low. The pairing of 1,000 yen a court and free equipment is built as a device to give hotel guests their first taste of the game. Two things are worth following from here. First, whether it ends on November 30 or gets extended, or even goes year-round, on the back of demand. A decision to extend would be evidence that the seasonal conversion model works on the numbers. Second, how regional tournaments spread after the Hakone Cup in June; if the venue and the tournament calendar mesh, Hakone could become a travel destination for players from the Kanto area. Operators sitting on idle tennis courts should start by measuring how many pickleball courts one of their own would make.
Sources
- [Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel] Offering pickleball, the globally popular new sport, for a limited period (Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide / PR TIMES)
- Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel tennis courts (Hakone Town Tourist Association)
- Indoor pickleball courts open inside the Shinagawa Prince Hotel (Seibu Media Communications / PR TIMES)
- Pickleball (Rusutsu Resort official, Hokkaido)
- U.S. Pickleball Participation Statistics（SFIA）
