RKB Mainichi Broadcasting, a commercial station in Fukuoka, announced on September 18, 2026 that it will hold pickleball taster sessions with backing from Saibu Gas Holdings (Hakata, Fukuoka). The setting is the station's large regional event, RKB Colorful Fes 2026: An Autumn Festival Connecting to the Future, which draws more than 50,000 people every year. Over two days, Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11, anyone who comes can pick up a racket. A television and radio station taking the lead in spreading the game is worth watching both for people who want more courts and playing partners nearby and for companies looking to connect with their home region through sport.
A broadcaster sets up taster courts at an autumn festival
According to the announcement, the taster sessions run as a new addition to RKB Colorful Fes 2026. The venue is the RKB Colorful Community Center (the parking lot on the west side of the RKB broadcasting building). Both days start at 10:00, with sign-ups closing at 16:00. Alongside a taster court open to all ages, there is a pickleball strike-out game for small children, so families who have never touched a racket sport can join in easily.
Putting the program together is the RKB Pickleball Club, led by RKB announcer Ken Iguchi. Club members will play against visitors, and the announcement notes that on-air talent from the station may take part as well. A broadcaster trying the game itself and then carrying the scene on its programs and social media is reach no other taster session has.
Why a broadcaster and a local energy company teamed up
Taken on its own the taster session is modest in scale, but the division of roles is what to note. The broadcaster supplies the game, a local integrated energy company covers the cost, and the vessel is an autumn festival that draws more than 50,000 people a year. With the three meshing, pickleball stops being a sport you make a trip to see and becomes a sport that was right there when you came to the festival. That chance encounter lowers the bar for a first step a great deal.
Saibu Gas Holdings presents itself as a company rooted in the region across the group. Energy and the game have no direct link, but a healthy event that draws families fits well with building a local presence people can put a face to. Putting its name to the program as title sponsor keeps it in view beyond the two festival days, through advance publicity and broadcasts covering the event itself. The company has not made its aims public, but at the very least the game gains funding and reach behind its operation.
The details, laid out
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Project name | Saibu Gas Holdings presents the RKB Pickleball Club |
| Dates | Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11, 2026 |
| Reception hours | Both days from 10:00, sign-ups close at 16:00 |
| Venues | RKB Colorful Community Center (parking lot on the west side of the RKB broadcasting building) |
| Details | Taster court / strike-out game for children |
| Leader | Ken Iguchi (RKB announcer) and other club members |
| Host event | RKB Colorful Fes 2026 (more than 50,000 visitors every year) |
| Sponsor | Saibu Gas Holdings (Hakata, Fukuoka) |
How taster sessions work on families
In Japan in 2026, municipalities and shopping complexes have moved one after another to build ways into the game. Nirasaki in Yamanashi Prefecture built a free taster into its sports festa, and Shibuya in Tokyo planned free sessions split by age group. What they share is the idea of putting the first chance to hold a racket inside an event where people already gather. RKB's sessions are in the same line, and by slipping the game into the flow of the festival they reach beyond the people who would search for it and sign up.
The strike-out game for children is especially well judged. With a light plastic ball and a smaller court, pickleball lets even children keep a rally going within minutes. A target game makes winning and losing easy to read, and the waiting is less boring. If children can play alongside while their parents try it, a family visit turns into a way into the game.What Nirasaki was after in going ahead with free tasters at its sports festaoverlaps here: a pattern of growth driven from outside the big cities.
What corporate sponsorship changes about a taster session
What decides the quality of a taster session is in fact less the number of courts than how well it is staffed. Lending rackets and balls, having people on hand to explain the rules, watching over children, all of it takes hands and money. Bring in a sponsoring company and you can keep the cost to participants down while lining up enough guides for people to get a feel for the game. Corporate sponsorship speeding up growth has shown up elsewhere too, in a major real estate firm putting its name to a tournament.Kenedix, with its large assets under management, taking title sponsorship in pickleballset beside this one shows a locally rooted broadcaster's sponsorship and a national company's sponsorship each working on a different layer.
One strength of a broadcaster being involved is that the experience does not end in a day. If footage and photos from the day run on television, radio and social media, even people who were not there are left with a memory that someone nearby was playing this. The prompt to go to the next taster session or a court in the neighborhood often comes from that second-hand exposure.
Tips for taking part, and related reading
At a festival-style taster session, waiting times shift easily with the weather and the crowd. Check the venue information for whether rackets are lent out, and bring shoes you can move in, a change of clothes and a towel to be safe. With children, getting used to the target game first and then moving to the taster court makes the flow easier to follow. Free sessions on the day are sometimes split by age or time slot, as in Shibuya, so checking the signage on site before you line up is surest (for how it runs in practice,how Shibuya ran its free pickleball tasters in two blocksis also worth a look).
Summary
With a broadcaster, a local company and a big festival all converging, RKB's taster session is a well-timed way into pickleball in Kyushu. Start by going to the venue on October 10 or 11 and keeping a few rallies going on the taster court. If your local club or company is looking for a point of contact through sport, sponsoring an event led by a broadcaster like this, or co-hosting a taster session, is worth considering. The venue and the dates are already set.
Sources
Saibu Gas Holdings presents the RKB Pickleball Club (RKB Mainichi Broadcasting, September 18, 2026)
