Start your warm-ups: it’s finally here! After much debate over whether it would (or should) go ahead, the world’s greatest sporting event hits our screens from Friday 23 July. Kicking off with an Opening Ceremony that celebrates host country Japan’s rich culture – while also paying respect to the ongoing global coronavirus crisis – the delayed 2020 Olympic Games will thrust Tokyo into the limelight. Tourism still remains off-limits, for now, but now’s the perfect time to plan that future adventure. Here’s our highlights guide to the city’s top Olympic districts…
SHOPPING AND SINGING
Neon-splashed streets, soaring skyscrapers, packed karaoke bars: Tokyo is everything you imagine it to be, especially in its vibrant western wards, Shinjuku and Shibuya. Throw in a smattering of key Olympics venues – including the brand-new, Kengo Kuma-designed Olympic Stadium, showcasing athletics, football and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies – and you’ve got a first-rate sightseeing quarter.
Start at the Meiji Jingu shrine, in an oasis of green bordered by a frenetic concrete jungle. Pass under the tall wooden torii gate – the traditional entrance to a Shinto temple – and into the courtyard complex, frequented by robed monks, for a quiet moment ahead of the urban onslaught in Shibuya. The city’s best (and busiest) shopping district, this is also home to the photo-famous Shibuya Crossing, the chaotic intersection ringed in TV screens and noisy with Japanese pop music. Get a prime bird’s-eye view for the price of a latte from the Starbucks in Tsutaya bookshop on the corner, or splash out £12 to go up the 230m-high observatory Shibuya Sky, affording views, on clear days, all the way to Mount Fuji. Shibuya’s narrow streets are packed with brilliant homeware shops (try Tokyu Hands and Loft) and fashion stores (Shibuya 109 for teens, Parco for everyone else). Follow cutesy Cat Street north, then stroll down kitsch Takeshita Street, the heart of teen hangout Harajuku. Once famous for its hot young fashion, it’s now mostly cheap jewellery and snack shops peddling rainbow-coloured cotton candy, but is still a must-see.
As afternoon turns to night, push further north to Shinjuku. There’s more brilliant shopping, but you’re here for the atmosphere – the illuminated signage, plastered along skyscrapers, looks straight out of the film Lost in Translation. And, to party, Kabukicho, the nightlife district, is packed with cheap izakaya (pubs with food), ramen joints and okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) restaurants, plus karaoke bars that stay open as late as you fancy singing. For podium-worthy drinks, try Golden Gai, a series of alleyway bars. It’s touristy, but still feels like old-world Tokyo.
THE HISTORIC CENTRE
It seems fitting that the medals for judo and karate, two traditional martial arts, will be contested in Tokyo’s atmospheric central district. The area surrounding the Nippon Budokan arena is dominated by the tranquil Imperial Palace grounds, all rambling green lawns and quiet pavements. You can’t visit the palace – the Japanese royal family is still in residence – but you can stroll the adjoining East Gardens, passing old guard houses, cherry trees and lakes. Exit by photogenic Tokyo station to moneyed offices and glamorous, retro department stores. Ornate Mitsukoshi, where staff open doors each day with a bowing ritual, is Tokyo’s answer to Harrods. Ginza, to the south, is best known for its upmarket designer merchants and £200-a-head sushi restaurants. Too expensive? You can still get an affordable culture hit at the Kabuki-za, a historic theatre showcasing traditional kabuki drama with elaborate costumes. Finally, to the south, Hamarikyu Gardens, with its pond-side tea house, is a picturesque place for a late stroll. But for the tall buildings at its fringes, you’d never know this was the 21st century.
FUN ON THE WATERFRONT
A clutch of constructed islands feeding into Tokyo Bay – sewn together by roads and metro lines – will be a focus during the Olympic Games, as it will host the gymnastics, cycling, swimming and tennis events in shiny new stadiums. First, find the Toyosu Fish Market, a slick replacement for the famed (now closed) Tsukiji, where you can observe the 6am tuna auction or down a fresh-off-the-boat sushi breakfast. Then there’s buzzy Odaiba, a tech-y, family-friendly entertainment hub with museums, restaurants and the muchphotographed Rainbow Bridge. Start by touring the installations at quirky art venue teamLab Borderless. Its 360° video projections on walls, ceilings and floors drop you right into moving paintings. Then heard for a soak in Odaiba’s onsen-style hot spring or try some arcade fun at Joypolis. Get into that internationalist Olympic spirit with attractions including an Italian-themed shopping mall, complete with Roman columns and an opulent fountain, and a 12m-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty. Let the games begin!
Start your warm-ups: it’s finally here! After much debate over whether it would (or should) go ahead, the world’s greatest sporting event hits our screens from Friday 23 July. Kicking off with an Opening Ceremony that celebrates host country Japan’s rich culture – while also paying respect to the ongoing global coronavirus crisis – the delayed 2020 Olympic Games will thrust Tokyo into the limelight. Tourism still remains off-limits, for now, but now’s the perfect time to plan that future adventure. Here’s our highlights guide to the city’s top Olympic districts…
SHOPPING AND SINGING
Neon-splashed streets, soaring skyscrapers, packed karaoke bars: Tokyo is everything you imagine it to be, especially in its vibrant western wards, Shinjuku and Shibuya. Throw in a smattering of key Olympics venues – including the brand-new, Kengo Kuma-designed Olympic Stadium, showcasing athletics, football and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies – and you’ve got a first-rate sightseeing quarter.
Start at the Meiji Jingu shrine, in an oasis of green bordered by a frenetic concrete jungle. Pass under the tall wooden torii gate – the traditional entrance to a Shinto temple – and into the courtyard complex, frequented by robed monks, for a quiet moment ahead of the urban onslaught in Shibuya. The city’s best (and busiest) shopping district, this is also home to the photo-famous Shibuya Crossing, the chaotic intersection ringed in TV screens and noisy with Japanese pop music. Get a prime bird’s-eye view for the price of a latte from the Starbucks in Tsutaya bookshop on the corner, or splash out £12 to go up the 230m-high observatory Shibuya Sky, affording views, on clear days, all the way to Mount Fuji. Shibuya’s narrow streets are packed with brilliant homeware shops (try Tokyu Hands and Loft) and fashion stores (Shibuya 109 for teens, Parco for everyone else). Follow cutesy Cat Street north, then stroll down kitsch Takeshita Street, the heart of teen hangout Harajuku. Once famous for its hot young fashion, it’s now mostly cheap jewellery and snack shops peddling rainbow-coloured cotton candy, but is still a must-see.
As afternoon turns to night, push further north to Shinjuku. There’s more brilliant shopping, but you’re here for the atmosphere – the illuminated signage, plastered along skyscrapers, looks straight out of the film Lost in Translation. And, to party, Kabukicho, the nightlife district, is packed with cheap izakaya (pubs with food), ramen joints and okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) restaurants, plus karaoke bars that stay open as late as you fancy singing. For podium-worthy drinks, try Golden Gai, a series of alleyway bars. It’s touristy, but still feels like old-world Tokyo.
THE HISTORIC CENTRE
It seems fitting that the medals for judo and karate, two traditional martial arts, will be contested in Tokyo’s atmospheric central district. The area surrounding the Nippon Budokan arena is dominated by the tranquil Imperial Palace grounds, all rambling green lawns and quiet pavements. You can’t visit the palace – the Japanese royal family is still in residence – but you can stroll the adjoining East Gardens, passing old guard houses, cherry trees and lakes. Exit by photogenic Tokyo station to moneyed offices and glamorous, retro department stores. Ornate Mitsukoshi, where staff open doors each day with a bowing ritual, is Tokyo’s answer to Harrods. Ginza, to the south, is best known for its upmarket designer merchants and £200-a-head sushi restaurants. Too expensive? You can still get an affordable culture hit at the Kabuki-za, a historic theatre showcasing traditional kabuki drama with elaborate costumes. Finally, to the south, Hamarikyu Gardens, with its pond-side tea house, is a picturesque place for a late stroll. But for the tall buildings at its fringes, you’d never know this was the 21st century.
FUN ON THE WATERFRONT
A clutch of constructed islands feeding into Tokyo Bay – sewn together by roads and metro lines – will be a focus during the Olympic Games, as it will host the gymnastics, cycling, swimming and tennis events in shiny new stadiums. First, find the Toyosu Fish Market, a slick replacement for the famed (now closed) Tsukiji, where you can observe the 6am tuna auction or down a fresh-off-the-boat sushi breakfast. Then there’s buzzy Odaiba, a tech-y, family-friendly entertainment hub with museums, restaurants and the muchphotographed Rainbow Bridge. Start by touring the installations at quirky art venue teamLab Borderless. Its 360° video projections on walls, ceilings and floors drop you right into moving paintings. Then heard for a soak in Odaiba’s onsen-style hot spring or try some arcade fun at Joypolis. Get into that internationalist Olympic spirit with attractions including an Italian-themed shopping mall, complete with Roman columns and an opulent fountain, and a 12m-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty. Let the games begin!
ALICIA MILLER
Olympic Games: Opening Ceremony Fri 11am BBC1, 11.30am Eurosport 1, 12 noon 5 Live