 | COVID-19 information:Foreign spectators will not be allowed to attend the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics. Spectators from within Japan will be allowed to attend, though it is not yet clear how many. If you are one of the 600,000 people outside Japan who bought tickets to the Games, look out for information about getting a refund. |
| (Information last updated 20 Mar 2021) |
| Games of the XXXII Olympiad |
.jpg/250px-Olimpic_games_2020_-_Tokyo_-_Japan_(15678301267).jpg) |
 Tokyo, Japan – 23/7/2021 |
| 87days to go |
- The Tokyo article provides a more comprehensive guide to those visiting the city.
The Games of the XXXII Olympiad, the 2020 Summer Olympics, are scheduled to be held in Tokyo from 23 July to 8 August 2021, having been postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. TheParalympics are to take place from 24 August to 5 September 2021. Some events will be held in other locations throughout Japan.
Tokyo will be the only Asian city to have hosted two summer Olympics, having hosted the games in 1964.
For the first time, climbing, karate, skateboarding and surfing will feature at the Olympics, while baseball and softball make their return after being dropped from the 2012 Olympics.
Tickets to Olympic and Paralympic events will be honored in 2021, if the Games proceed as planned.
Prepare
Tickets
If you bought a ticket but are not a Japanese resident, you should be able to get a refund. In some cases fees may not be refunded, though.
Accommodation
It's best to be within easy reach of Minato or Odaiba for the Olympic Park, but the cheaper hostels area at Asakusa is not far either. Cheap and plentiful accommodation can be found in prefectures surrounding Tokyo, so if you don't mind the trade-off of 30–60 minutes of commute, you can still plan an Olympics trip even if accommodation seems to be otherwise prohibitively expensive or hard to find. Examples can include looking at hotels near stations on a single train line into Tokyo, such as in central Saitama (prefecture), southern Ibaraki, or the area in Chiba (prefecture) between Tokyo and Narita. Southern Chiba and western Kanagawa would likely be too far to consider for most people as a daily commute to the games.
Get in
General information about traveling to Tokyo appears in the Tokyo article.
Get around
General information about getting around Tokyo appears in the Tokyo article.
Driving in Tokyo is usually a bad idea, and during the Olympics it will probably be impossible to find any parking vacancy in the whole city. Just use the train/metro system, which is used to huge crowds. The train/metro system is the most efficient way to travel in Tokyo. It is also good fun planning the routes.
See
Where
Most events will take place in Tokyo or close to it, with three further cities holding some football games and a fourth hosting some baseball and softball games:
- Fukushima, about 90 minutes north of Tokyo.
- Kashima, about 90 minutes northeast of Tokyo.
- Sendai, two hours north of Tokyo.
- Sapporo, in the very north of Japan.
Most sites are not built yet.
Venues in Tokyo, near Yoyogi:
- 1 New National Stadium (新国立競技場). Opening ceremony, track and field, soccer.
- 2 Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (東京体育館). Table tennis.
- 3 Yoyogi National Stadium (国立代々木競技場). Handball.
Venues in Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace:
- 4 Nippon Budokan (日本武道館). Judo.
- 5 Imperial Palace Garden (皇居外苑). Start of the bicycle road race.
- 6 Tokyo International Forum (東京国際フォーラム). Weight lifting.
- 7 Kokugikan Arena (両国国技館). Boxing, in Japan's most famous sumo wrestling place.
Venues in Tokyo, around Ariake:
- 8 Ariake Arena (有明アリーナ). Indoor volleyball.
- 9 Olympic BMX Course (有明BMXコース). BMX.
- 10 Olympic Velodrome (有明ベロドローム). Cycling track.
- 11 Olympic Gymnastic Centre (有明体操競技場). Gymnastics.
- 12 Ariake Tennis Park (有明テニスの森). Tennis.
- 13 Odaiba Marine Park (お台場海浜公園). Triathlon, marathon swimming.
- 14 Shiokaze Park (潮風公園). Beach volleyball.
- 15 Tokyo Big Sight Hall A (東京ビッグサイト・ホールA). Wrestling.
- 16 Tokyo Big Sight Hall B (東京ビッグサイト・ホールB). Fencing, taekwondo.
- 17 Seaside Park Hockey Stadium (大井ホッケー競技場). Hockey. Nice park nearby, including a bird sanctuary with an observation deck with free binoculars and a small museum.
- 18 Olympic Village (選手村). Train hard enough and you might get your accommodation here. Only athletes, trainers and officials are allowed.
Venues in Tokyo, around Sea Forest (海の森)
- 19 Sea Forest Cross-Country Course (海の森クロスカントリーコース). Equestrian eventing cross-country.
- 20 Sea Forest Waterway (海の森水上競技場). Rowing, canoe-kayak.
- 21 Sea Forest Mountain Bike Course (海の森マウンテンバイクコース). Mountain bike.
- 22 Wakasu Olympic Marina (若洲オリンピックマリーナ). Sailing.
- 23 Kasai Slalom Course (葛西臨海公園). Canoe-kayak slalom.
Venues in Tokyo, around Dream Island (夢の島):
- 24 Youth Plaza Arena A (夢の島ユース・プラザ・アリーナA). Badminton.
- 25 Youth Plaza Arena B (夢の島ユース・プラザ・アリーナB). Basketball.
- 26 Dream Island Archery Field (夢の島公園). Archery.
- 27 Olympic Aquatics Centre (オリンピックアクアティックセンター). Swimming, synchronised swimming, diving.
- 28 Waterpolo Arena (ウォーターポロアリーナ). Waterpolo.
Venues in Musashino, one hour from the Tokyo center:
- 29 Musashino Forest Sport Centre (武蔵野の森総合スポーツ施設). Modern pentathlon: fencing.
- 30 Ajinomoto Stadium (東京スタジアム, Tokyo Stadium). Football, modern pentathlon (swimming, riding, running, shooting), and rugby sevens.
- 31 Musashino Forest Park (武蔵の森公園). Finish of the bicycle road race.
Other venues one hour from the Tokyo center:
- 32 Asaka shooting Range (陸上自衛隊朝霞訓練場). Shooting.
- 33 Kasumigaseki Country Club (霞ケ関カンツリー倶楽部). Golf.
- 34 Saitama Stadium (埼玉スタジアム２００２) (In Saitama.). Football.
- 35 Saitama Super Arena (さいたまスーパーアリーナ) (In Saitama.). Basketball.
- 36 International Stadium Yokohama (横浜国際総合競技場) (In Yokohama.). Football.
- 37 Yokohama Stadium (横浜スタジアム) (In Yokohama.). Baseball and softball.
Venues in further cities:
- 38 Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium (福島県営あづま球場) (in Fukushima, about 90 minutes north of Tokyo and 30 minutes south of Sendai). Baseball and softball.
- 39 Kashima Soccer Stadium (茨城県立カシマサッカースタジアム) (in Kashima, about 90 minutes northeast of Tokyo). Football.
- 40 Miyagi Stadium (宮城スタジアム) (in Sendai, two hours north of Tokyo). Football.
- 41 Sapporo Dome (札幌ドーム) (in Sapporo, in the very north of Japan, reachable by plane or 4 hours on bullet train). Football.
Calendar
Olympics
Paralympics
The Olympic Games will be followed two weeks later with the Summer Paralympic Games from 24 August to 5 September 2021. Most of the Paralympic events will be held in the same venues as the Olympics.
Do
Tokyo has many other attractions, which are worth checking between the two games.
Buy
Some of the most popular shopping sites in Tokyo include:
- Akihabara, Tokyo's Electric Town, is the center of the electronics stores, and the stores along Chuo-dori are packed to the rafters with anime (animation) and manga (comics)
- the Antique Mall in Ginza or the Antique Market in Omotesando
- Shinjuku has the camera stores
- Shibuya and neighboring Harajuku are the best-known shopping areas for funky, youthful clothes and accessories
- Kappabashi Street near Asakusa, also known as “Kitchen Town” is lined with stores selling all kinds of kitchen wares
- Ochanomizu has what must be the world’s densest collection of guitar shops, and plenty of other musical instruments are available
- Nakamise in Asakusa and the Oriental Bazaar in Omotesando stock all the kitschy things like kanji-emblazoned T-shirts, foreigner-sized kimono, ninja outfits for kids and ersatz samurai swords
- Ueno's Ameyoko and Yanaka Ginza in the Shitamachi Taito district are good neighborhood shopping streets
Eat
If you want a break from the food available at the Olympic Park, head for the neighbouring Odaiba, Shinbashi, Daimon, where plenty of Japanese and other options are available.
Drink
Sleep
Go next
- Hakone
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Seoul
- Wikivoyage:Past events/Pyeongchang 2018 – previous Winter Olympics
- Beijing 2022 – next Winter Olympics