Asics will set up a single pickleball court at Fukutoku no Mori, an open plaza in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, for 10 days from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, September 27, 2026. Called ASICS PICKLEBALL CONNECT, the project lends out both paddles and shoes for free, and no advance booking is needed. Drop by empty-handed on the way home from work, hit for 10 minutes and leave: that way of playing is now on offer in the middle of the city. Read it as the entry point for anyone wanting to start the sport moving off the gymnasium booking sheet and onto the side of the commute.
Permanent pickleball facilities in Japan have multiplied over the past year. A major sporting goods company putting a free court under its own brand on prime land two minutes' walk from Mitsukoshimae Station is no small thing.
Ten days beside Fukutoku Shrine where you can step on court empty-handed
The venue, Fukutoku no Mori, is a plaza in Nihonbashi Muromachi next to Fukutoku Shrine. It is about a two-minute walk from Exit A6 of Tokyo Metro's Mitsukoshimae Station and about two minutes from JR Shin-Nihombashi Station, close enough to stop by while changing trains. The court is open from 16:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and from 13:00 to 21:00 on weekends and holidays. Respect for the Aged Day on September 21, the national holiday on the 22nd and the Autumnal Equinox on the 23rd all open at 13:00, so the whole long weekend is usable.
Admission is completely free, first come first served on the day. Junior high school age and above can take part alone; elementary school age and below must be accompanied by a guardian. There is only one court, with 10-minute turns that shorten to five when it gets busy. Up to 10 people can go on at once, so colleagues or families can play together as a group.
What you can borrow
Both paddles and shoes are available to borrow. Shoe fitting runs from 22.5 cm to 30.0 cm, and you can try on competition models such as the GAME FF PICKLEBALL and the SOLUTION SPEED FF 4. Moving in shoes built for pickleball feels different from your own trainers in how well they stop you sideways. The whole picture, an equipment maker opening the door for free, is concentrated right here.
Asics, five years into its US push, brings one court down into the city
Asics has run a pickleball business in the United States since 2021. This project is its first urban court bringing what it learned as an equipment maker in a sport that grew fast across America back to Japan. Experience built overseas is being opened to the general public in a place as symbolic as Nihonbashi.
Permanent facilities are being built at the same time. Mitsui Fudosan has opened Tokyo's first permanent pickleball site in Toyosu with four outdoor courts (Mitsui Fudosan opens Tokyo's first permanent pickleball site in Toyosu, four outdoor courts from September 9), and a shopping complex in Inagi now has Japan's first permanent indoor court where you can hit while out shopping (Pickleball on the shopping trip: Japan's first permanent indoor courts inside a mall open in Inagi). Property companies supplying the place and, here, an equipment maker supplying the gear and the experience look like different moves, but both are building the same entry point.
How many people can one court on 10-minute turns handle in a day
One court on 10-minute turns is generous for a free opening. Weekdays run five hours and weekends and holidays eight, with up to 10 people per turn. On simple arithmetic that means around 30 groups cycling through on a weekday and around 48 on a weekend or holiday, and cutting turns to five minutes when busy raises the throughput further. Line the numbers up and several thousand people in total could pick up a paddle for the first time over the 10 days.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Venues | Fukutoku no Mori (2-5-10 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) |
| Period | 10 days, September 18 to September 27, 2026 |
| Hours | Weekdays 16:00-21:00 / weekends and holidays 13:00-21:00 |
| Entry Fee | Free (no booking, first come first served on the day) |
| Rental | Paddles and shoes (22.5-30.0 cm) |
| Courts | 1 court / 10-minute turns (5 minutes when busy) / up to 10 people per turn |
How the setup keeps beginners from leaving after one go
Pickleball is easy to walk into because the court is about a third the size of a tennis court and the perforated plastic ball does not fly too far. Rallies keep going, and even strangers can hold a knock-up within 10 minutes. Setting the turn at a short 10 minutes fits the aim of cutting waiting time and drawing out a "let me have another go."
Among players there is a persistent view that how much fun someone takes home from a first taster session decides whether they stick with the sport. One women's taster session with 60 places drew more than 1,000 applicants (Over 1,000 applicants for 60 places: the numbers behind Oggi's taster session and women's interest), so demand at the entry point clearly outstrips supply. Free, empty-handed and no booking: those three together are a mechanism for not letting that demand slip away.
If an equipment maker owns the entry point, the first paddle is its own brand
When an equipment maker opens a free court itself, the first paddle and the first pair of shoes a beginner touches carry that brand. Fitting know-how built up in tennis and running can be carried across to a sport that has only just taken off. As the playing population grows, so does the market for a new category of sport-specific shoes, which makes investment in the entry point an investment in future sales.
Three groups are likely to show up. First, office workers nearby who use it as a short workout on the way home. Second, existing players thinking about replacing their gear, who use it to try on new models. Third, people who post photos on social media; the photo spot is set up with that spread in mind. Opening for free is a draw for visitors and, at the same time, a promotion that prints brand recall onto the street.
Dates, times and access to check before you go
Because it is first come first served, the sweet spots are just after opening in the 16:00 hour on weekdays, and early afternoon before the rush on weekends and holidays. You need to bring essentially nothing, though a change of clothes and a towel help since you will sweat. Tell staff your shoe size and they will fit you. If you are bringing a child of elementary school age or younger, remember that a guardian has to come along.
How to get the most out of these 10 days
For anyone thinking of starting, 10 days with free paddles and even shoes is a chance to work out whether the sport suits you before buying gear. Line up colleagues or family within the 10-person limit and get on court once, on a weekday evening or at midday over the long weekend. If it clicks, the route to keep going is already there at the permanent courts in Toyosu and Inagi. These are 10 days for turning one paddle picked up in a city plaza into the next step.
Sources:
ASICS PICKLEBALL CONNECT announcement (PR TIMES / ASICS Japan)
