By OCA Young Reporter Zaynab Kawtharani from Lebanon
Nagoya, Japan, September 25, 2026: Nine OCA Young Reporters toured the Costa Serena at Kinjo Pier on Friday, visiting the cruise ship that is serving as a floating home for athletes and team officials during the Aichi–Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
The reporters were Hana Al Dayyat of Jordan, Naranbat Serjmaa of Mongolia, Zaynab Kawtharani of Lebanon, Adala Anvith Reddy of India, Katie Speldewinde of Sri Lanka, Hawwa Hassan of Maldives, Meera Regmi of Bhutan, Melody Wu Jo Hsuan of Chinese Taipei and Rumayza Norova of Tajikistan.
The Costa Serena can accommodate up to 4,000 athletes and officials at one time. With no traditional Athletes’ Village at these Games, it is one of the places where competitors eat, rest and prepare for their events.
The reporters walked through the ship’s dining areas, guest services and an anti-doping area. They also visited its open decks, looking out over Nagoya Port from a vessel that has taken on a new purpose while docked there.
Inside, the tall atrium, long cabin corridors and shared spaces showed the scale of the operation. The buffet gave the reporters a glimpse of daily life on board. Meal times have been arranged around training and competition schedules, while fitness areas and recovery spaces help athletes maintain their routines between events.
For the Young Reporters, the visit revealed a side of the Asian Games rarely seen from the stands. Between events, thousands of competitors return to the same ship to eat, train, recover and prepare for their next appearance.
Yet the strongest impression came from the people sharing those spaces. The reporters saw athletes from different teams playing games, joining activities and eating together. Away from the pressure of competition, they had time to exchange stories and make memories with people they might otherwise know only as opponents.
People from distant parts of Asia met in the same corridors and gathered around the same tables. Their languages and traditions remained their own, but life aboard the Costa Serena brought those many places into one shared space, giving the floating village its sense of unity.