Tokyo 2020: Olympic venues overview
Of the 43 venues used for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, all 33 permanent sites remain in use — including 32 competition venues and the Olympic Village, which was purpose-built for the Games.
Most of the 10 temporary venues were dismantled after the Games, and the sites were restored to their original uses, such as public parks. However, three temporary venues were designed for a longer lifespan and are still in use today for sporting or exhibition purposes, bringing the total number of Tokyo 2020 venues currently in use to 36, including 35 competition venues.
Of the 32 permanent competition venues, 24 were existing, five of which had been used when the Japanese capital previously hosted the Olympic Games in 1964: Yoyogi National Stadium, Equestrian Park, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, and Enoshima Yacht Harbour.
Eight of the permanent competition venues were newly built: the Olympic Stadium, Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Ariake Arena, Oi Central Seaside Park Hockey Stadium, Sea Forest Waterway, Canoe Slalom Centre, Yumenoshima Park Archery Field, and Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
All the competition venues have an operator and legacy plan in place to ensure their long-term use. They host events and activities serving their local communities and high-performance athletes, ranging from taster days and fitness events to international competitions.
The venues in Tokyo are located in two separate clusters: Heritage and Tokyo Bay. With the exception of the Olympic Stadium and Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, all the new-build venues are located in the latter.
With its 10-lane main pool and state-of-the-art technology, the solar-powered Tokyo Aquatics Centre is open to the public for recreational swimming and classes, and stages local and national competitions and events organised by the Tokyo Swimming Association and Japan Swimming Federation. These included the 66th Japanese Championships in October 2024.
Yumenoshima Park Archery Field reopened two months after the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with competitions and taster days for the public, a reflection of its aim to promote and popularise the sport of archery. It will also be used for major national competitions. When it is not staging competitions and events, the venue’s grass field is opened up to the public as a place of rest and recreation.
The venue for the rowing and canoeing sprint events at Tokyo 2020, Sea Forest Waterway is proving a popular leisure and recreation facility and lays on water sports taster sessions and fitness events. In future, it will be used for international rowing and canoeing competitions and for athlete development and training.
One of Japan’s few public hockey facilities, Oi Central Seaside Park Hockey Stadium is central to the efforts of Japanese hockey to promote the sport and encourage more people to take it up. Its two striking blue renewable bioplastic polyethylene pitches are used for other sports when not hosting hockey matches and training.
Home to Japan’s first man-made canoe slalom course, Canoe Slalom Centre has already staged the national championships and is used by schools and local residents for activities such as rafting. It also hosts international competitions.
Five of the 25 existing venues were used when the Japanese capital previously hosted the Olympic Games, in 1964: Yoyogi National Stadium, Equestrian Park, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, and Enoshima Yacht Harbour, the only one of the five located in Tokyo Bay and not the Heritage Zone.
The spiritual home of Japanese martial arts, Nippon Budokan was the venue for judo events at Tokyo 1964 and for karate in addition to judo at Tokyo 2020, for which it was renovated. It staged the 2019 World Judo Championships. When it is not hosting martial arts, it doubles up as a concert and festival venue, with many of rock and pop music’s biggest acts having performed there over the years.
Famed for its eye-catching design and suspended roof, Yoyogi National Stadium remains one of the Japanese capital’s most beloved pieces of architecture and one of its most stunning landmarks. The handball venue at Tokyo 2020, it too continues to stage sporting and cultural events.
Another existing venue was the Kokugikan Arena, which staged boxing at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad and is the home of sumo, Japan’s national pastime. The 11,000-seater stadium also welcomes street fighter esports competitions, and a round of the Capcom Cup was held, which uses Street Fighter 6, in March 2025.
The product of private-public collaboration, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village will provide approximately 5,650 houses to the city’s residents. These include apartments for families, general housing for rental, serviced apartments and residential homes for the elderly. Now known as Harumi Flag, the Village has been designed as Japan’s first hydrogen-powered district and as a barrier-free residential development with facilities for multi-generational educational, cultural and sporting activities. Some 40 per cent of its total area is given over to green spaces.