Past events/Tokyo 2020: This event has concluded and is no longer open to the public. The next Olympic Summer Games will be held in Paris, France in 2024.

The Tokyo article provides a more comprehensive guide to those visiting the city.

Paralympic games of the XXXII Olympiad

Tokyo, Japan – 24/8/2021

Has concluded

The Games of the XXXII Olympiad, the 2020 Summer Olympics, were held in Tokyo from 23 July to 8 August 2021, having been postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. They were followed by the Paralympics from 24 August to 5 September 2021. Some events were held in other locations throughout Japan.

Tokyo was the only Asian city to have hosted two summer Olympics, having previously hosted the games in 1964.

For the first time, climbing, karate, skateboarding and surfing were featured at the Olympics, while others like baseball and softball made their return after being dropped from the 2012 Olympics.

Prepare

Tickets

If you bought a ticket, 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

Most of the games will probably be shown on your favourite TV channel, or on some other one available. There are probable big screens at some locations allowing a more social event, in regions where the COVID-19 situation is under control.

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.

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:

Nippon Budokan: Judo

• 4 Nippon Budokan (日本武道館). Judo. 
• 5 Tokyo International Forum (東京国際フォーラム). Weight lifting. 
• 6 Kokugikan Arena (両国国技館). Boxing, in Japan's most famous sumo wrestling place. 

Venues in Tokyo, around Ariake:

• 7 Ariake Arena (有明アリーナ). Indoor volleyball. 
• 8 Olympic BMX Course (有明BMXコース). BMX. 
• 9 Olympic Gymnastic Centre (有明体操競技場). Gymnastics. 
• 10 Ariake Tennis Park (有明テニスの森). Tennis. 
• 11 Odaiba Marine Park (お台場海浜公園). Triathlon, marathon swimming. 
• 12 Shiokaze Park (潮風公園). Beach volleyball. 

Tokyo Big Sight: Wrestling, fencing, taekwondo

• 13 Tokyo Big Sight Hall A (東京ビッグサイト・ホールA). Wrestling. 
• 14 Tokyo Big Sight Hall B (東京ビッグサイト・ホールB). Fencing, taekwondo. 
• 15 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. 
• 16 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)

• 17 Sea Forest Cross-Country Course (海の森クロスカントリーコース). Equestrian eventing cross-country. 
• 18 Sea Forest Waterway (海の森水上競技場). Rowing, canoe-kayak. 
• 19 Sea Forest Mountain Bike Course (海の森マウンテンバイクコース). Mountain bike. 
• 20 Wakasu Olympic Marina (若洲オリンピックマリーナ). Sailing. 
• 21 Kasai Slalom Course (葛西臨海公園). Canoe-kayak slalom. 

Venues in Tokyo, around Dream Island (夢の島):

• 22 Youth Plaza Arena A (夢の島ユース・プラザ・アリーナA). Badminton. 
• 23 Youth Plaza Arena B (夢の島ユース・プラザ・アリーナB). Basketball. 
• 24 Dream Island Archery Field (夢の島公園). Archery. 
• 25 Olympic Aquatics Centre (オリンピックアクアティックセンター). Swimming, synchronised swimming, diving. 
• 26 Waterpolo Arena (ウォーターポロアリーナ). Waterpolo. 

Venues in Musashino, one hour from the Tokyo center:

• 27 Musashino Forest Sport Centre (武蔵野の森総合スポーツ施設). Modern pentathlon: fencing. 

Tokyo Stadium: Football

• 28 Ajinomoto Stadium (東京スタジアム, Tokyo Stadium). Football, modern pentathlon (swimming, riding, running, shooting), and rugby sevens. 
• 29 Musashino Forest Park (武蔵の森公園). Start of the bicycle road race. 

Other venues one hour from the Tokyo center:

• 30 Asaka shooting Range (陸上自衛隊朝霞訓練場). Shooting. 
• 31 Kasumigaseki Country Club (霞ケ関カンツリー倶楽部). Golf. 
• 32 Saitama Stadium (埼玉スタジアム２００２) (In Saitama.). Football. 
• 33 Saitama Super Arena (さいたまスーパーアリーナ) (In Saitama.). Basketball. 
• 34 International Stadium Yokohama (横浜国際総合競技場) (In Yokohama.). Football. 
• 35 Yokohama Stadium (横浜スタジアム) (In Yokohama.). Baseball and softball. 

Venues in further cities:

• 36 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. 
• 37 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. 
• 38 Miyagi Stadium (宮城スタジアム) (in Sendai, two hours north of Tokyo). Football. 
• 39 Izu Velodrome (伊豆ベロドローム) (in Shizuoka, about two and a half hours southwest of Tokyo). Track cycling. 
• 40 Fuji International Speedway (富士スピードウェイ) (in Shizuoka, about two hours southwest of Tokyo. Near the bottom of Mount Fuji.). Finish line of bicycle road race. 
• 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

Some events have been postponed because of a typhoon in the area.

Olympics

The original schedule was from 22 July to 9 August 2020. To postpone the Olympics until 2021, all events were delayed by 364 days (one day less than a full year to preserve the same days of the week), giving a new schedule of 21 July to 8 August 2021.

All times and dates use Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Gold medal events

EG

Exhibition gala

CC

Closing ceremony

July/August 2021		21 Wed	22 Thu	23 Fri	24 Sat	25 Sun	26 Mon	27 Tue	28 Wed	29 Thu	30 Fri	31 Sat	1 Sun	2 Mon	3 Tue	4 Wed	5 Thu	6 Fri	7 Sat	8 Sun	Events
Ceremonies				OC																CC	n/a
Aquatics	Artistic swimming													●	●	1		●	1		2
	Diving					1	1	1	1		●	●	1	●	1	●	1	●	1		8
	Marathon swimming															1	1				2
	Swimming				●	4	4	4	5	5	4	4	5								35
	Water polo				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Archery				●	1	1	1	●	●	●	1	1									5
Athletics											1	3	4	5	6	5	8	8	7	1	48
Badminton					●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	1	2							5
Baseball
	Baseball								●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		1		1
	Softball	●	●		●	●	●	1													1
Basketball	Basketball					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	4
	3×3 Basketball				●	●	●	●	2
Boxing					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		2	1	1	1	4	4	13
Canoeing	Slalom					●	1	1	●	1	1										16
	Sprint													●	4	●	4	●	4
Cycling	Road cycling				1	1			2												22
	Track cycling													1	2	1	2	2	1	3
	BMX									●	2	●	2
	Mountain biking						1	1
Equestrian					●	●		1	1		●	●	●	2	●	1		●	1		6
Fencing					2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1								12
Field hockey					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1			2
Football		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	1	1		2
Golf										●	●	●	1			●	●	●	1		2
Gymnastics	Artistic				●	●	1	1	1	1			4	3	3	EG					18
	Rhythmic																	●	1	1
	Trampolining										1	1
Handball					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Judo					2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1									15
Karate																	3	3	2		8
Modern pentathlon																	●	1	1		2
Rowing				●	●	●	●	2	4	4	4										14
Rugby sevens							●	●	1	●	●	1									2
Sailing						●	●	●	●	●	●	2	2	2	2	2					10
Shooting					2	2	2	2	●	2	1	2	●	2							15
Skateboarding						1	1									1	1				4
Sport climbing															●	●	1	1			2
Surfing						●	●	●	2												2
Table tennis					●	●	1	●	●	1	1		●	●	●	●	1	1			5
Taekwondo					2	2	2	2													8
Tennis					●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	3								5
Triathlon							1	1				1									3
Volleyball	Beach volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		4
	Volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Weightlifting					1	2	1	2	1			2	1	2	1	1					14
Wrestling													●	3	3	3	3	3	3		18
Daily medal events					11	18	21	22	23	17	21	21	25	22	24	17	27	23	34	13	339
Cumulative total					11	29	50	72	95	112	133	154	179	201	225	242	269	292	326	339
July/August 2021		21 Wed	22 Thu	23 Fri	24 Sat	25 Sun	26 Mon	27 Tue	28 Wed	29 Thu	30 Fri	31 Sat	1 Sun	2 Mon	3 Tue	4 Wed	5 Thu	6 Fri	7 Sat	8 Sun	Total events

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.

To postpone the Paralympics until 2021, all events were delayed by 364 days (one day less than a full year to preserve the same days of the week), giving a new schedule of 24 August to 9 September 2021.

All times and dates use Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Gold medal events

CC

Closing ceremony

August/September 2021		24 Tue	25 Wed	26 Thu	27 Fri	28 Sat	29 Sun	30 Mon	31 Tue	1 Wed	2 Thu	3 Fri	4 Sat	5 Sun	Events
Ceremonies		OC												CC	n/a
Archery					●	1	1	2	2		1	1	1		9
Athletics					13	16	19	17	21	17	18	18	24	5	168
Badminton										●	●	●	7	7	14
Boccia						●	●	●	●	4	●	●	3		7
Cycling	Road								19	6	5	4			51
	Track		4	5	5	3
Equestrian (dressage)				3	2	●	1	5							11
Football 5-a-side							●	●	●		●		1		1
Goalball			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2			2
Judo					4	4	5								13
Paracanoe											●	4	5		9
Paratriathlon						4	4								8
Powerlifting				4	4	4	4	4							20
Rowing					●	●	4								4
Shooting								3	2	2	1	2	2	1	13
Sitting volleyball					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Swimming			16	14	14	14	13	15	14	15	15	16			146
Table tennis			●	●	●	5	8	8	●	●	5	5			31
Taekwondo											2	2	2		6
Wheelchair basketball			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Wheelchair fencing			4	4	2	4	2								16
Wheelchair rugby			●	●	●	●	1								1
Wheelchair tennis					●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2	2		6
Daily medal events			24	30	44	55	62	54	58	45	48	56	49	15	540
Cumulative total			24	54	98	153	215	269	327	372	420	476	525	540
August/September 2021		24 Tue	25 Wed	26 Thu	27 Fri	28 Sat	29 Sun	30 Mon	31 Tue	1 Wed	2 Thu	3 Fri	4 Sat	5 Sun	Total events

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.

Stay safe

The summer heat in Tokyo can be debilitating. While you are unlikely to suffer from heat stroke compared to the competing athletes, try to stay hydrated and stay in the shade if you are outdoors.

Go next

• Hakone
• Kyoto
• Osaka
• Seoul
• Wikivoyage:Past events/Rio 2016 – previous Summer Olympics
• Wikivoyage:Past events/Pyeongchang 2018 – previous Winter Olympics
• Beijing 2022 – next Winter Olympics
• Paris 2024 – next Summer Olympics