Haneda Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports, and it welcomes a large number of travelers every year in the heart of Tokyo. Terminal 3, Japan’s international flight hub, has already demonstrated a strong respect for the country’s past with the Edo Koji zone, a strip of shops and walkways that truly captures the spirit of those tiny, atmospheric 17th century Edo side streets – you can almost imagine what it must have been like to stroll through those narrow alleys back in the day, complete with an authentic section of the Nihonbashi bridge as it appeared in bygone days.
However, starting in late December, things will get much more dramatic. A enormous 131-foot-long and 20-foot-tall concrete replica of Godzilla will dominate the third-floor exit entryway; this will soon become the largest indoor Godzilla you’ll ever see, and, believe us, it makes for a rather epic start to your journey.
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Toho, the firm that created Godzilla in 1954, Japan Airport Terminal Co., and Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation are the brains behind this installation, which has been termed the Haneda Godzilla Global Project and will be open until the end of December 2026. This is around the same time as Godzilla’s 70th birthday last year. The designers are big fans of the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One, and they wanted to capture the same atmosphere and look in their design, which you can see on Godzilla’s back with those glittering blue plates.
As you pass through customs, you can’t help but notice a tiny Minus One statue of a battle-hardened Godzilla guarding the information desk. Above this, on the walls, are incredible murals depicting the entire franchise’s monsters, including Ghidorah’s snarling heads, Mothra’s delicate wings, and Rodan’s massive wingspan, all competing for space. Upon exiting, you can see the main Godzilla statue (before the security line), which is great because it avoids the need to plan a special trip only to see it. However, as an arrival, you get to see it as soon as you depart the baggage claim – a nice little surprise to start your time in the city.
Why rush to the hotel when you can take a little detour to take a photo or wait by the desk and talk with the staff about all the kaiju legends? Families are already starting to think of this as a stop on their journey through all of the different Japanese films, pointing out all of the little Easter eggs buried in the murals. Meanwhile, single visitors having a coffee early in the morning find an unusual kind of comfort in the monster’s unblinking glare – a promise that Tokyo has more up its sleeve than you might expect.
