The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be the second summer games held in Japan’s capital, and the fourth in Asia (following Tokyo 1964, Seoul 1988, and Beijing 2008). Tokyo’s changed a lot since 1964 (and is surely a much easier city for non-Japanese speaking visitors to deal with these days), but since then Japan has also hosted the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup, and two Winter Olympics, showcasing excellent sporting facilities and public transportation.
Most recently Japan did a great job hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and we can be confident Japan will do a similarly stellar job of hosting the 2020 Olympic Games (though the wisdom of having the Olympics at the height of the Tokyo summer is somewhat questionable – make sure you’re prepared for the heat & humidity)
All that said, Japan will very much be an unknown quantity for most visiting fans, and probably with more of a language barrier than you may have experienced when attending other Olympics. As a sports fan with years of experience living in & visiting Japan, I figure I can therefore be of help to fans visiting Japan for Tokyo 2020 – these pages should hopefully be of use with helping you decide where to stay and understand how to get around, as well as ideas for other non-Olympic things you could do in Japan while you’re in the country.
See my detailed Tokyo guide here, Yokohama here, and Sapporo (hosting the marathon) here
For transportation advice on how best to travel around Tokyo (and the rest of the country), click here
Japan’s an amazing place with an incredible amount to see and do, so if you’re flying all that way I strongly suggest you also take the opportunity to travel about a bit and check out some more of the country outside of Tokyo while you’re there – for suggestions click here, and see my quick guides to Kyoto and Hiroshima
How to get online here
Useful resources here
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