niko and … adds a permanent pickleball court at a Mito park, no gear needed

The apparel brand niko and … runs courts for pickleball on a permanent basis at niko and … BASE, the mixed-use site it opened in Senba Park in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. A racket sport has been folded into a day you can spend empty-handed, alongside a sauna, a cafe and barbecue. Through 2026 Asics and department stores kept opening limited-run courts as a way into the sport, but a brand setting up a permanent, booking-based base inside a park is still rare. For anyone looking for somewhere to keep playing, it is worth noting as the options widen.

A permanent court next to the sauna and the cafe

niko and … BASE is a site opened on April 23, 2026 by Adastria Co., Ltd. (of the ANDESTY HD group), which runs apparel and general goods. It is the company's first park project, in a corner of Mito Kobun Terrace inside Senba Park in Mito. The concept it sets out is "play, eat, unwind…". There is a sauna room of Yamizo timber supervised by Noda Kurakushon Bebe of The Sauna, a cafe lounge from niko and … COFFEE, a barbecue area you can use empty-handed and a running station, and in one corner of it sits a multipurpose court that can be used for pickleball.

Courts are booked by the hour, one court at a time, and rackets and balls are available to borrow. Without bringing any gear you can drop in on a whim and play a few games (though shoes you can move in are worth having). Rally after the sauna has set you right, or work up a sweat first and then head for it. What marks this place out is that the sport is designed not as an end in itself but as part of how you spend the day.

A year of pop-ups in Japan in 2026

In Japan in 2026, ways into the sport multiplied quickly. Most of them, though, ran for a limited time. Asics opened a come-as-you-are court in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, free for ten days, and Osaka Takashimaya turned its rooftop into a temporary court. Shibuya put together a neighborhood-wide wellness program of running, pickleball and coffee. Put a court up briefly where people gather, and get a racket into their hands first. The method spreads awareness fast, but it carries a weakness: thin provision for where the people who tried it go next to keep playing.

niko and … BASE sits on that second side. For someone who found the sport at a pop-up, a permanent court you can book any time is a candidate for where to play next. One-off events and standing facilities are not opposed; they complement each other as entrance and landing place. A brand settling into a park shows that such landing places are starting to be built into how people travel and spend their free time.

Fees and opening hours at a glance

Coming empty-handed, and booking ahead, lowers the bar

For someone who wants to start pickleball, the first walls are gear and a place. At the stage where you cannot tell whether you will stay with it long enough to buy a racket, rentals alone make it easier to step in. niko and … BASE lends two rackets and two balls for 500 yen, and the net and scoreboard are free. Bring a friend, hold a court for an hour, and the two of you can start straight away on a single rental set. The same thinking that made free limited-run openings work as a way in is here, running permanently, and that is what tells.

Booking ahead suits beginners in another respect. Open courts can be filled with stronger players and hard to join, but with a court and a time secured you can learn the rules at your own pace.Asics opening a come-as-you-are court in Nihonbashi free of chargeis a one-off taste of the game; having a bookable permanent court to follow it makes the sport easy to work into daily life.

A mixed-use site works for whoever you bring

Unlike a court-only facility, a mixed-use site works whoever you come with. Family or friends with no interest in pickleball can spend the time in the sauna, the cafe or at the barbecue, which makes it easy to invite people to a sport only you want to play. An environment where people who are not playing can wait in comfort is easy to overlook, but it matters for keeping players in the game.

It is continuous with the move that turns department store rooftops and shopping complexes into a way into the sport.Osaka Takashimaya turning its rooftop into a courtwas designed to put the game in front of people alongside shopping and a meal. niko and … BASE does the same thing in the wider leisure space of a park, and permanently at that. Attach a court to a place that already draws a crowd and it reaches people the sport alone cannot. The thinking overlaps with the push to put idle space to use as courts.

What to check before you go

Use is by advance booking, so rather than turning up on the off chance, it is surer to hold a court online or by phone first. Opening hours change with the season: last entry is 17:00 from April to September and moves earlier, to 15:00, from October to March. The last rental is an hour before closing, and the closing time means being fully off the court, so book with packing-up time in mind. Even though you can come empty-handed, shoes you can move in are worth bringing. If you are combining it with the sauna or the cafe, Shibuya'swellness program that strung exercise and rest togetheris another hint for how to build the day.

Summary

For someone who met the sport at a limited-run court, a bookable permanent base like niko and … BASE becomes the place to take the next step. Start by holding one court on a weekday and playing with a rental racket. If you run a facility or a local authority and are weighing up adding a court, pairing it with something that already draws people, and designing it so companions who do not play are comfortable too, is the short route to a place people keep coming back to.

Sources

Pickleball｜niko and … BASE official
niko and … BASE opening announcement (niko and … official)