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| Attractions at Haneda Airport: Godzilla, Torii gate with Edo painting, and Tanabata Display |
BritishProf has been on his travels, first to the UK, and more recently to
Karuizawa, the mountain resort town famous for escaping the summer heat. For the UK, I flew from Haneda Airport, just south of central Tokyo, MUCH more convenient than Narita. Haneda has expanded and developed substantially in recent years, and was recently named the
World's Best Domestic Airport and recognised for having the World's Best Accessible Facilities at the World Airport Awards. The new Terminal 1 North Satellite is set to open in September 2026 boasting Japan's first hybrid wood-steel terminal structure and promising to improve passenger flow and reduce bus gate usage for domestic operations. In short, if you're flying to or from Tokyo, domestic or international, Haneda is by far the best option: not to mention it also has interesting displays such as the world's largest indoor
Godzilla monument, artworks (the picture features the 17th century
Cooling Off or 納涼図屏風 by Kusumi Morikage), and seasonal events (such as the interactive
Tanabata festival corner which encouraged travellers to write their hopes and dreams on colorful strips of paper called
tanzaku).
Japan has certainly heated up considerably since I first flew out from Haneda, and despite temperatures in England reaching record highs, they are nothing in comparison to the consecutive 35 degree plus days and 80% humidity which has become the norm in Japanese summertime. The Cooling Off sketch mentioned above, featuring a family of three enjoying an evening breeze and gazing at the moon, makes one yearn for the end of summer, and the painting itself does indeed hint at the coming autumn with its rising full moon and the ripening gourds growing on the vines on the trells. For now, though there is nothing to do but brave the heat but one can at least enjoy some of the delightful summer blooms such as the water lily, properly known as the Indian/Sacred Lotus
(Hasu in Japanese) , with its gorgeous pink flowers.
Keeping fit in the dog days of summer is tough, but for a light workout
at an interesting venue why not try pickleball at Tokyo Tower? The white and red lattice communications tower was famously inspired by the Eiffel Tower: at 333 metres it is just 3 metres taller than its French rival! It was the tallest tower in Japan and one of Tokyo's main tourist attractions until the opening of the 634 metre
Tokyo Skytree in 2012. Tokyo Tower's two observation decks remain popular though: the two-story 150 metre Main Deck (¥1500) and the smaller almost 250 metre Top Deck (¥3500). A final tourist attraction is the five-story base building known as FootTown which houses a number of restaurants, gift
shops, and other attractions, including two pickleball courts at the top (RF). Pickleball is unique mix of tennis, badminton, and table tennis and is played with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball on a badminton-sized court with a lowered net. While first introduced to Japan only in 2014, it enjoyed a surge in popularity following a
2024 tournament held at Ariake Tennis Park; the
Tokyo Tower Pickleball Court opened in July 2025 and in 2026 the two leading organisations in Japan
merged to form one governing body, Pickleball Japan. It was my first time playing, but it was easy for beginners to pick up and not too strenuous. The only problem was the wind, with the ball - essentially a light plastic ball with holes - really being affected by the gusts. Maybe playing half way up Tokyo Tower was not a good idea after all! Any experience with interesting or unusual sports inside or outside Japan? Let us know in the
COMMENTS!
