For a year from December 2025, one of the last things passengers flying out of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport will see of Japan is an angry reptilian monster bursting through the departures lobby. Godzilla, perhaps the most famous lizard in the world, will loom over a third-floor balcony in Terminal 3, thanks to a vast installation, nine metres tall and 40 metres across, set to be in place until December 2026.
The project is the result of a partnership between Toho Co., the makers of the Godzilla films, and Haneda Airport’s operators, who aim to promote Japanese culture and enhance the appeal of the hub, a spokesperson said.
A fictional Japanese prehistoric creature or kaiju, Godzilla, awakened by nuclear radiation, first hit cinema screens in 1954, and has been portrayed around the globe ever since in art, figurines, more than 30 film adaptations, and cartoons, sometimes destructive, but more recently, as a protective force.
Those two sides of his nature could be argued to represent tourism itself in Japan – a sector that, with 31 million arrivals in the first three quarters of 2025, has achieved record-breaking visitor numbers and represents Japan’s second largest export industry, comprising 7.5% of GDP. The government is targeting 60 million visitors by 2030. But the rising popularity of Japanese destinations has brought with it questions over how to manage visitor numbers at some of the East Asian country’s most iconic and fragile sites. There are now access fees for trails at Mount Fuji, which two years ago was said by local officials to be “screaming” with overtourism; some shrines are charging for photo opportunities while others have threatened to close due to bad tourist behaviour; and Kyoto has had to tell intrusive visitors to leave its geishas alone.
The Godzilla installation is not the first to attempt to make an airport a destination, or at least, to allow travellers to relive the highlights of their trip. Also in Haneda, Terminal 3’s retail area has been transformed to resemble a traditional Edo-era marketplace, and for those who have just landed, another, smaller Godzilla awaits in arrivals.
And in late January 2025, Kyushu-Saga International Airport in southwest Japan opened a karaoke facility in a bid to add novelty and fun to the traveller experience. Airport official Sho Akikawa, speaking told Japan News, that, “There’s something surprising about seeing a karaoke booth inside an airport, and so we thought it would be a good way to offer a new kind of amusement.” The size of a telephone booth and equipped with a clock to ensure singers don’t miss their flight, the karaoke experience is available to flyers and non-flyers alike. “It can be used by people other than the passengers themselves, so we hope this will serve as an opportunity to promote Saga Airport as a visitor-friendly location,” Akikawa added.
