The 20th Asian Games face an accommodation crisis in Japan as 17,000 athletes and officials are housed in temporary cabins, hotels, and a cruise ship. The logistical hurdles sparked complaints over undersized beds, room allocation errors pairing male and female officials, and midnight administrative delays.
Logistical Chaos and Cruise Ship Lodging at Nagoya Port
When organizers of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games decided against building a conventional athletes’ village, they set off a massive logistical puzzle. More than 17,000 athletes and officials are being distributed across hotels, temporary wooden container-style cabins, and an Italian cruise ship due to cost considerations. The Olympic Council of Asia defended the approach, arguing that a purpose-built village would become an underused facility once the competition concludes. Originally, organizers planned for roughly 15,000 participants, but the total swelled after the addition of new sports.
One of the most striking arrangements involves the Costa Serena, an Italian cruise ship that arrived in Nagoya on September 15. The 290-metre vessel is being used to house around 4,000 athletes and officials, turning the cruise liner into a floating Games village. Another 2,000 people are expected to stay in the temporary cabins constructed around the port area, while others will be accommodated in hotels and alternative lodging. The 20th Asian Games officially open in Japan on September 19, but the tournament has already been drawn into this accommodation controversy.
Delegations Report Unusable Beds and Room Assignment Errors
The accommodation plan quickly drew sharp rebukes from visiting delegations. Members of South Korea’s basketball delegation criticized the temporary cabins harshly, pointing to sleeping quarters that failed to accommodate taller competitors. Jung Jae-yong, vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, described the accommodation as the “worst-ever”, pointing to beds that were too short for players above two metres tall.
Jung Jae-yong stated that athletes who are over two metres tall cannot even stretch their legs out on the beds, adding that it is unreasonable.
South Korean player Byeon Jun-hyeong amplified the frustration by posting footage showing a leaking sink and water on the floor of his accommodation, accompanying it with the message: Please help us,
. Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino said all his athletes had been allocated rooms, but some officials, like coaches, were moved to different hotels and Airbnb.
Administrative errors compounded the physical discomfort. Japan’s deputy Chef de Mission Hisashi Mizutori acknowledged that some room allocations created practical problems, including situations involving coaches and athletes being assigned together or men and women being allocated rooms together because the numbers worked mathematically. Mizutori noted that while numbers match on paper, practically it creates challenging situations such as men and women being assigned together, coaches being assigned with athletes, or trainers who need to accommodate a lot of medical equipment being assigned together.
Midnight Room Scrambles and Official Responses
The administrative friction reached other delegations as well. Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak and her coach, Ashok Mishra, were assigned to a single room on the cruise ship. When the arrangement was discovered, it sparked criticism over a male and female being given the same room, and although the issue was reported to organizers immediately, it took hours before the Indian Olympic Association stepped in and made arrangements, pushing the resolution time to 1:30 a.m.
Even after the initial fix, coach Ashok Mishra encountered further obstacles when hotel staff objected as he went for his room key, stating his name was not registered. Asian Games officials stated that an ‘i’ in Ashok Mishra’s name was missed in system records, requiring another 45 minutes to correct the error and issue accreditation, pushing his arrival at his room past 2:00 a.m. Speaking to a national channel, gymnast Pranati Nayak remarked: Our two were assigned the same room. After that the problem was sorted out. Even then it was past 2 o’clock.
The housing delays also pushed back the schedule for national flag-raising ceremonies held during the Asian Games opening, though organizers announced those events ultimately concluded peacefully. India was represented at the ceremonies by Chef de Mission Sahdev Yadav along with deputies Sharath Kamal, Alakananda Ashok, Anjali Bhagwat, and David Thottan. Meanwhile, the Sports Authority of India built two temporary container-style accommodation units at its Bengaluru campus, each measuring 40 feet by 10 feet with twin bedrooms, bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a living area, to familiarise athletes with the conditions they could encounter in Japan. Aichi Governor and chief organizer Hideaki Omura insisted that local officials are addressing feedback dynamically, stating that if there are different opinions, then they will respond to them appropriately.