Hyogo: Unique Form of Table Tennis Takes Hold in Hot Spring Town, Players Use Oke Wooden Buckets Instead of Rackets

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:57 JST, September 13, 2025

TAMBA-SASAYAMA, Hyogo – Table tennis using oke wooden bath buckets instead of rackets is catching on as a local specialty game in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture.

In 2011, the city government and others devised this unique way to play table tennis in a bid to revitalize the area amid a decline in the number of visitors to day-trip onsen hot spring facilities.

The oke buckets used as rackets are called “oketto” and measure 20-25 centimeters in diameter and 10-12 centimeters in height. Oketto is a portmanteau of oke and “ketto” from the Japanese word for “racket.”

The game is played as doubles, and the basic rules are the same as for table tennis. Seven buckets are placed in a row at the center of the table where the net normally is.

Players must hold the bucket with both hands — hitting the ball using one hand results in a point for the opponent.

Seven oketto table tennis teams and clubs are active in the city. Since 2012, annual oketto competitions have been held in February, and some participants play the game in cosplay outfits.

“The greatest appeal of the sport is that everyone, from children to the elderly, can enjoy it,” said a 54-year-old oketto player from the city.

The first “world oketto table tennis championships” were held in February 2020, with 95 doubles teams from 12 countries participating. The next world championships will be held in February 2026.