The Japanese phenomenon of Pokémon is known for its transformative qualities, having started out in 1996 as a video game and grown into a multimedia franchise encompassing merchandise, movies, theme parks, trading cards, and TV shows—and now airports.
Noto Satoyama Airport, a domestic hub on the Noto Peninsula of Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, is being temporarily rebranded as a Pokémon attraction, complete with decorations and events themed around the world-famous multi-billion-dollar universe.
Also, sometimes known as Wajima Airport, for its nearest city, Noto, will evolve for the next three years into the “Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport.” Between 7 July 2026 and 30 September 2029, over one hundred pocket monsters of the “flying type” will be spottable in and around the airport’s four storeys. Central characters such as Pikachu will naturally take the limelight in the hub’s atrium, sitting aboard an aircraft surrounded by birds, insects, and dragons.
The transformation is taking place as part of an initiative to rehabilitate tourism-dependent Noto in the wake of the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that struck the peninsula in 2024, killing over 600 people, and destroying or severely damaging around 30,000 buildings, including the airport.
Those regeneration efforts will include a new airport logo and a bespoke “Sky of Hope” artwork portraying characters soaring together with an aeroplane. The observation deck, renamed “Pikachu’s Village,” will depict numerous Pikachu set against a satoyama-inspired rustic landscape. The chosen imagery,” the airport explains in a statement, “features numerous Pokémon flying through the sky, dazzling light, and sparkling rainbows”, and “expresses a longing for the sky, the joy of flying freely, and the ‘hope’ of embarking on a new journey.”
Restaurants in the airport will also get in on the action, offering Pokémon-themed refreshments in the form of pancakes and drinks, while retail shops will be selling Pokémon souvenirs, such as luggage tags, keychains, and clothing, as part of the fun. Eagle-eyed visitors will also notice Pokémon-themed manhole covers nearby, and they can even indulge in a Pokémon hot spring footbath if desired.
Visitors can also access original short videos on their smartphones while in the airport, including a story called “Fly, Bagon!” about a blue Rock Head wingless Dragon who yearns to fly.
The redevelopment project has been conceived with the support of the Pokémon With You Foundation, which came to life after the 9.1-magnitude earthquake—Japan’s worst ever— in 2011. The foundation works to support communities in disaster zones.
