Tennis friend David Johnson called the Minato Ward tennis court sign-up process "a cultural experience". You too can enjoy (?) this experience. If you're starting from zero, it will take you 6 to 8 weeks to get your first use. Why bother? Because the courts are very convenient and very cheap (600 yen for 2 daytime hours).
Minato Ward has 2 courts near the Aoyama cemetery, 4 in Arisugawa Park and 4 in Shiba..
One "registered person", if successful in the lottery, gets usage of one 2-hour time slot. You'll play more tennis if you are in a "cooperative" or "syndicate"- friends who share times.See the separate page on these cooperatives.
You must go to the Minato Sports Center (directions to it are below) to get a Sports ID - a card with your registration number; and a PIN number. P
ick up an English explanation of the lottery system, which gives the details of how to get through the lottery. If you neither reside nor work in Minato Ward, take along someone who does. The person(s) getting the Sports ID must bring a Japanese driver's license or an alien registration card. A business card is not sufficient. If you only work in Minato ward, bring your company ID; again, a business card is not sufficient. At the Center, just inside the main entrance is a counter. Say something like "Tohroku shitai", meaning "I want to register". Fill out the small form (it's in Japanese).Basically, you put your name in for specific time slot(s) in a following month. Other persons also put in their names, with the number of persons varying depending on the popularity of the time slot. A computer randomly selects a winner from among the names for each time slot.
There are two ways to put in your name for a time slot lottery: by telephone, or at the terminal (like an ATM machine) at the admin office at each tennis court location and at the Sports Center. The entry period is a specified 10 days each month, and you have to check and confirm your acceptance in a subsequent 10 days (again, by phone or by a terminal)
Many weekday daytime slots are not taken in the main lottery. You can sign up for slots not taken, even if you got a time slot in the main sign-up. A large group of foreign women do this, and play just about as much as they want.
Finally, enjoy your tennis !! Turn in your receipt at the admin office near the courts, and play. You must sweep down the court in the last 5 minutes of your time slot.
The Sports Center is near Tamachi Station on the Yamate Line, on the bay side, right along the Yamate line tracks. The Haneda monorail line passes just north of the building. A taxi is easiest for your first visit. The Center is a huge, block-long 4-story white building . Main entrance is in the middle of the longer side, up a short flight of stairs. Address: Shibaura 3-1-19, telephone 3452-4151 (in Japanese). Open 9 AM to 9 PM except Mondays.