The name comes from the sound when the ball is being hit from one side to the next, pan - pon - pan - pon and is played on asphalt with racquets made of wood, a soft tennis ball and a net in form a wooden plank.
Pan-Pon was started as a lunch exercise, but has since has grown into a local sport in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Outside Japan the sport is little known, but tournaments have been organized in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, United States, connected to the Hitachi Automotive plant there.
[2] Pan-pon is played on a rectangular flat court, normally outdoors on asphalt alternatively indoors on plastic floor.
Pans from the kitchen are made of wood, 30 x 20 cm and ca 10 mm in thickness.
If the ball is dropped from 1 meter altitude it should bounce back up 50–60 cm if it is correctly pumped.