Nightmarish arrivals is the theme of the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games, as transport delays, system failures and problematic welcomes have sent several contingents scrambling ahead of the Friday opening. The stuttering start includes – buses getting lost, transport from airport jammed due to computer system failures of not registering names, and a Japanese welcome that scandalized Koreans because it included a figure dressed as one of their invaders from 16th century who had tried to take over Korea.

A list of the Nagoya mess:

Just a cruise ship ‘ocean view’ not enough

The idea of lodging athletes on a cruise ship with a stunning ocean view hasn’t landed too well for Asian Games athletes as the start is littered with chaos. The Korea Times’ Hankookilbo reported tgat athletes who moved into the cruise ship athletes’ village at Kinjo Pier near Nagoya Port on Wednesday expressed frustration, saying, that though the accommodations are in much better condition than those at the container-based Garden Pier village, they are forced to spend all their time on water, and struggling to access competition venues. At the container village, other athletes got pelted with pouring rain on way to shuttle buses.

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Cramped beds for tall basketball players

South Korea’s men’s basketball squad was given container accommodations. Korea Times reported these were particularly cramped, with shared toilets and showers. The Korean ball team averages around 2 meters. KT quoted men’s basketball player Byun Jun-hyung, 30, who called it a “refugee camp” posted from his social media video showing the floor of a bathroom soaked with water from a leak, appealing for help with the words, “Please save us.”

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Korea – Japan historical rivalry flares up

The cruise ship village ran into controversy of its own, when upon arrival, the welcome ceremony featured figures portraying Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi — historical figures closely associated with Aichi prefecture. Korean Times reported that the inclusion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who invaded Joseon Korea during the Imjin War, drew a scandal storm. “His appearance was inconsistent with the international event’s stated spirit of exchange and harmony,” Korea Times wrote. Hideyoshi had invaded Korea to take over the country in 1592 and occupied territory. It led to a a stalemate, and then later Hideyoshi just died, after which Japan lost at Battle of Noryang. They argued and negotiated for years later, then settled for peace. At Nagoya 2026, the Koreans weren’t amused to be greeted by the Hideyoshi figure.

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Football teams’ bus reaches baseball stadium

A mishap involving a shuttle bus carrying athletes, got lost while another reached a wrong destination. South Korean and Qatari national soccer teams ended up at a nearby baseball stadium instead of Mizuho Rugby Stadium, the venue for the football match, as per Chosun. Mizuho Park houses multiple sports facilities, including the main stadium for the opening ceremony of this Asian Games. However, the baseball stadium the team was taken to does not host any Asian Games events. The baseball events for this tournament are held in a different city within Aichi Prefecture, not in Nagoya. Latwe, with recovery training scheduled on Wednesday 16th, they realised no vehicles were assigned for transportation to the training venue. . The team had urgently secured alternative vehicles from the morning, exhausting their efforts – start of training at 10:30 a.m., saw them arrive only at the venue at 10:50 a.m. Earlier, Manager Lee Min-sung and team officials also faced delays in attending a press conference after the assigned vehicle failed to arrive at the accommodation. South Korea have won the last three medals, defeating Japan in finals in last two. The gold is massively important for military service exemptions.

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Vietnam players lug suitcases from one hotel to another

Vietnam’s women’s volleyball team was also dropped off at the wrong hotel due to a mistake in directions from the organizing committee. Players and coaching staff lugged their suitcases and equipment under the scorching sun walking a considerable distance to their designated accommodations, reported Hankook Ilbo.

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Chinese lay out yoga mats at airport waiting for transport

The Aichi Sky Expo, a venue next to Chubu Centrair International Airport, of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, became a mass on stranded passengers as arriving delegations waited hours for transfers to their official accommodation, reported Xinhua. The on-site system failed to find information for a large number of athletes, the piece reported, leaving them unable to board the pre-arranged shuttle buses. Only two of the 21 members of China’s gymnastics team could be found in the on-site system, according to a delegation member, leaving the entire team stranded. The exhausted athletes used the downtime to train, laying out yoga mats to stay warmed up. Xinhua quoted a Chinese official as saying that staff

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Private transport not viable option either

When Kazakhstan’s shooting team waited more than two hours for transport, more chaos ensued. “Many parts of the workflow are not connected. Teams can arrange private transport if they want, but they have to cover the costs themselves,” a volunteer was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Warned of the chaos, China’s badminton team tried to take public airport buses but could not get enough tickets for everyone. Some athletes left separately while the rest stayed behind. The remaining badminton players were helped by staff from the Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya, who arranged chartered vehicles through local overseas Chinese contacts, as per Xinhua. The full team finally left after four hours.

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Long terminal waits

Chinese members of the table tennis, wushu and rowing teams waited 5-6 hours after arriving, as per Chinese media. A Sri Lankan delegation told Xinhua, the team’s total travel and waiting time had stretched to 24 hours since leaving home. Only drinking water was available at training venues, as per Chinese media, with no food available. “These off-field troubles are harder to endure than the competitions themselves,” a fatigued athlete told Xinhua.

Thailand athletes sleep on cruise lobby floor

A Facebook post from Thailand Enquirer showed several athletes from Thailand’s sepak tekraw team curled up on the floor as they were forced to sleep in the Costa Serena Cruise ship lobby after their accommodation records were found missing. Arriving on Wednesday, officials informed them their names were missing till late in the night, according to Thailand Enquirer. Deputy delegation chief Chalitrat Chandrubeksa was quoted by Enquirer stating that the Japanese organisers had failed to submit their team’s documents. The athletes were then allocated rooms promised to other Thai athletes.