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Starting this December, travellers at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport will be in for a very unusual farewell.
A colossal Godzilla, measuring 40 metres wide and nine metres high, will dominate the departures lobby for a year, until December 2026.
The statue shows the cinematic icon bursting through the airport walls, an unmissable landmark that is sure to become an attraction at Japan’s busiest airport.
Where travellers can spot Godzilla
The towering Godzilla installation will stand in – or rather on – the third floor of the departures lobby, but those landing at Haneda can get in on the fun, too.
Arrivals will come face-to-face with a smaller, albeit still fearsome, statue from the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One. They will also find images of the city-destroying reptile and other monsters that have appeared in the franchise displayed above the information counter on the terminal’s second-floor arrivals lobby.
Godzilla has featured in more than 30 films in and outside Japan since the first was released in 1954, according to its official website. This might be the first time it has come to life inside an airport.
The project, a collaboration between Toho Co., the studio behind the Godzilla films, and Haneda Airport’s operators, is designed to leave a lasting impression on travellers, showcasing an iconic example of Japanese design and entertainment.
Not that Japan’s selling points need much introduction for travellers these days.
The country’s international visitor numbers are at record highs, with more than 31 million arrivals in the first nine months of 2025.
Experience Japan beyond the main attractions
While tourism in Japan continues to break records, most travellers still visit main sites in cities like Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka. Haneda’s Godzilla may be a headline attraction, but it also offers a window into Japan beyond its temples, torii gates and traditional towns.
The country has no shortage of quieter, less-visited experiences for travellers who want to step off the beaten path. Gifu, for example, is known for snow-covered villages, centuries-old sword-making workshops and nearly empty onsens.
A short train from both Kyoto and Tokyo, Hokuriku on Japan’s west coast offers incredible nature, super-fresh seafood and well-preserved samurai and geisha districts with a fraction of the crowds of either of those cities.
Meanwhile, the rising trend of cinematic tourism offers another way to see Japan differently. Much like in destinations such as the UK, where visitors track filming locations from Succession to Spider-Man, travellers can step into scenes from modern films, anime and everyday life, from Tokyo’s neon-lit streets to rural landscapes.
The best way to cap a trip framed by Japan’s rich cinema and pop culture? It might just be with one last glimpse of Godzilla at Haneda.
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