A Symbol of Reconstruction Has Become Prey for Scalpers… Scalpers Are Making a Killing at the World’s First “Pokémon Airport”

Visitor Numbers Quadruple Compared to the Same Period Last Year Just One Week After Opening

“If large numbers of tourists come specifically for the Pokémon collaboration merchandise, it should contribute to Noto’s recovery. That’s precisely why I cannot tolerate resellers who snap up all the limited-edition items,” said a woman in her 30s living in Ishikawa Prefecture.

The “Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport” (Noto Airport)—the world’s first airport to bear the Pokémon name—opened on July 7.The interior and exterior of the terminal have been taken over by illustrations and figurines of Pokémon characters, and limited-edition merchandise—such as pins available only here—is on sale. In the first week after opening, the airport recorded 19,548 visitors, four times the number from the same period last year.

While the airport is off to a strong start, the local area is reportedly plagued by an influx of scalpers.

“Starting in the evening of the opening day, there has been a spate of resales of original Pokémon merchandise labeled ‘Noto Limited Edition’ on online marketplace sites. Stickers with a list price of 330 yen and pin badges priced at 990 yen were being listed for over 10,000 yen.The airport’s merchandise shop has been scrambling to counter scalpers, such as by hastily implementing a purchase limit of ‘one item per product,’” said a Noto Airport official.

Are these measures proving effective? In late July, a FRIDAY reporter visited the site. Even on this day—two weeks after the airport’s opening—the airport was bustling with families, and dozens of visitors were lined up outside the merchandise shop, waiting for it to open. A couple in their 30s with a child in elementary school said:

“Our son loves Pokémon, so we came to Noto during summer vacation. But when we actually went into the shop, most of the merchandise—like keychains and pin badges—was sold out… My son had been saying, ‘I want a limited-edition Pokémon keychain,’ so it was really hard to calm him down. For the sake of the children, I hope they’ll stop scalpers from buying up everything.”

This symbol of reconstruction must not be exploited by scalpers.

From the August 21 & 28, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*