Fashion
January 30, 2015
Sports Experience Museum "ASICS SPORTS MUSEUM" Opens
Experience the evolution of sport at this interactive museum.
The ASICS Sports Museum Opens
The museum's theme: To ensure everyone can enjoy sports with peace of mind, now and always, fostering healthy bodies and minds.
The ASICS Sports Museum, a corporate museum where visitors can experience the incredible performances of top athletes while touching and interacting with shoes and gear from various sports, has been completed and opened on July 2nd on Port Island in Kobe.
Text by OPENERSPhoto by Jamandfix
Experience the evolution of sports gear, the wonder of world records, and the thrill of speed.
The ASICS Sports Museum, spread across two floors, embodies the ASICS founding philosophy: "A sound mind in a sound body." It aims to pass on and promote sports culture, conveying the wonder and marvel of athletic competition in a tangible way.
Following the visitor path, the second-floor "History Field" introduces ASICS' corporate philosophy, history, and global activities through displays of various products from its founding to the present. A circular theater room presents ASICS' history in an approximately 11-minute video.
The Corporate History Corner showcases historical basketball and track shoes from the Onitsuka Tiger era to ASICS, as well as precious items like shoes actually used by famous marathon runners. The Athlete History Corner exhibits shoes worn by domestic and international athletes who have graced the Olympic Games. Ingenious mirror placements allow visitors to view the soles of the shoes, offering a detailed look at the characteristics and evolutionary process of footwear for different sports.
Furthermore, the Product History section displays models used by Ichiro Suzuki in official games, which were progressively lightened and evolved over the years based on his request for "lighter shoes." Here, one can witness the pinnacle of technology supporting athletic records.
On the first floor, the "Athlete Field" features a 138-inch super screen. Themed "Towards Infinite Possibility," it showcases movies captured with ultra-high-speed cameras that express the beauty of the human body in motion by top athletes. Additionally, an LED speed display system allows visitors to experience the speed of a 100-meter dash, a triple jump, or a baseball pitcher's throw, offering enjoyment for both adults and children.
Also on the first floor, visitors can physically interact with displayed items such as shoes and balls, as well as vintage sports footwear. This hands-on experience allows for a deeper understanding of the characteristics, intricacies, and specialization of various sports and disciplines.
A Special Comment from Kazuhiko Fujita, Director of the ASICS Sports Museum
The ASICS Sports Museum is part of our 60th-anniversary initiative. It has been realized through 7 to 8 years of planning, carrying on the will of our founder, the late Kihachiro Onitsuka.
Through various exhibits and interactive experiences like the LED speed simulation, we hope visitors will feel the excitement that sports generate. We want them to see and experience things like track and field events – running, jumping, throwing – that they might know by name but haven't directly encountered, and thereby appreciate the greatness of sports.
Especially for children who are future athletes, we hope this sparks their interest and inspires them to aim for goals like becoming Olympians. For adults who may have forgotten the joy of movement, we hope they can rediscover the importance and fun of sports.

ASICS Sports Museum
7-1-1 Minatojima Nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture
Tel. 078-303-1329
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Last admission 4:30 PM)
Closed Sundays, Mondays, public holidays, summer holidays, and year-end/New Year holidays
Free admission. *Group visits (10 or more people) require advance booking.
http://www.asics.co.jp/corp/museum






