Tokyo 2020 Venues: Tokyo Stadium (Football, Rugby & Modern Pentathlon)
Currently under the name of Ajinomoto Stadium, this massive facility found in Chofu will be renamed to Tokyo Stadium come Tokyo 2020. The lineup of events listed to be ran out of this venue is quite large and not only that, there is another big facility minutes away. A little out of the inner city, it will be a great facility to check out multiple sports without being deep within the heart of Tokyo. There are restaurants around the facility that can make for a good lunch and other reasons to check out this venue come the 2020 Summer Olympics. Let’s take a look at the events, location, transportation and the venue itself.
Events
Tokyo Stadium is a rather marvellous facility with a unique architectural design, even among the countless others of Tokyo. It also boasts a rather large seating section, close to nearly 50 000 seats. For these reason the Olympics will host not one, not two, but three separate events from this venue. Here is a list of the events set to showcase their athletes talent out of the stadium.
Football (July 22nd - August 8th)
Now football is by far one of the events that needs the most support to be executed properly. With it being a team sport instead of an individual sport, spanning over many days, it needs multiple venues. Infact for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics there are 7 separate stadiums that will host Men’s and Women’s Football. The venues are: Sapporo Dome, Miyagi Stadium, Ibaraki Kashima, Saitama Stadium, International Stadium Yokohama, Tokyo Stadium and of course, the New National Stadium. With there being 16 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams, each playing at least three games in the group stage, it is understandable why this is one of the most high maintenance sports.
As one would expect, football has a long history at the Olympic games. It has been a part of 26 out of 28 Olympic games, with its debut being in the second Olympics in 1900. With football being the most popular sport globally, the competition level is incredibly high. There is of course high level professional football leagues worldwide that talent can be drawn from, but unlike basketball, Olympic football has regulations that make the game closer to the amateur status that athletes are supposed to have in competition. In football there is an age restriction, as players must be under 23 years old. Each club however is allowed to have 3 players over the age of 23 on the roster.
The defending Olympic champions from Rio 2016, in both women’s and men’s football are from two of the most elite programs in the world. In 2016, Germany’s women’s team would claim gold in a 2–1 finals victory over a strong Swedish team. Coming in third was the always competitive Canadian side who would defeat the host nation of Brazil 2–1. The men’s side saw a little better outcome for the home team. Brazil would end up winning the gold medal, with their young national superstar Neymar leading the way. Germany would take home the silver after losing to Brazil 5–4 in the finals by penalty kicks. Nigeria would claim bronze with a narrow 3–2 victory over Honduras. It will be exciting to see who will be the champions this time around in Tokyo 2020.
Rugby (July 27th - August 1st)
Rugby will once again be back at the Summer Olympic Games come Tokyo 2020. Having appeared in just four Olympics prior to Rio 2016, the game of Olympic Rugby saw a new life brought back into the sport two years ago. Rugby had a long absence from the Olympic games lineup for nearly 100 years. Spanning from 1924 to 2016, an unfortunate event caused a negative perception of the game and thus ultimately costing the sport a spot at the summer games. The success of rugby sevens at Rio however, will undoubtedly mean a more steady place for the sport for years to come.
Instead of opting to support the traditional game of Rugby Union which features the standard 15 on 15 we see at the Rugby World Cup, the Olympics decided instead to host the format of sevens. Why sevens you may ask? There are many reasons for the switch to the smaller team based game, including its ability to diversify actual contenders. Teams such as New Zealand, France, England, Australia and South Africa have often come to dominate the international scene. It also is a way to distinguish itself separate from the large scale event of the Rugby World Cup, which often takes place a year before the Summer Olympics.
So what exactly happened at the 1924 Olympics that caused such a long hiatus? Well it really wasn’t all that bad, and to be fair the sport was no where near the popularity it is today. In fact, until that point, no Olympic rugby event had featured more than three teams in the tournament, essentially eliminating the competitive element. Anyways back to the fallout of rugby. During the 1920 Olympics there were only two teams competing, the United States and France. France would lose the match, which did not sit well with the fans. So in 1924, with Paris being the host city, a redemption match was set up after Romania would be the odd team left out of the finals. The two sides would go head to head, with the United States defeating France yet again, this time 17–3. A frenzy of French fans would rush onto the field in upset, toppling the barriers that had been set in place. It was then, that a sport with an already image of being rough, was unfairly labeled as a game for hooligans. Luckily since then, the sport has gained incredibly support on an international level and its image is pristine in the world of sports.
Modern Day Pentathlon (August 6th - August 8th)
The only solo event to be run out of Tokyo Stadium, will be for the athletes who are the Jacks of all trades. It will be the modern day pentathlon that showcases the wide range of skills these athletes possess. What happens is that the athletes partake in various events and are awarded points. These points do not directly indicate the winner, but rather determine the starting position of the athlete in the last event, which is a footrace. The first person to cross the finish line claims the gold medal. If you’re unfamiliar with the events that make up the modern pentathlon, don’t worry. Here is a list of the four events (one event really being a combination of two, making a total of five).
Fencing
The first event is fencing. They use a much abbreviated format than the official fencing event. The competitors use the épée, which is the largest sword used in fencing. It consists of several round robin matches where every athlete faces each other once. The matches are only up to one point and last a maximum of one minute. If both fail in the ability to land a single point in that time frame, both are considered to have lost the match. At the end of the round robin, the athletes are ranked in who has the most total points. The fencing portion will actually take place at the nearby facility of Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.
Swimming
The swimming event is a freestyle race. It is only a 200m distance which is actually scored in a unique fashion. Unless changed, the previous games have seen swimmers given a base point value of 1000 if completed within a time of 2:30. Every second under is a plus 4 points, while every second over is a minus 4 points.
Equestrian
The equestrian portion is strictly a show jumping event around a rougly 400 meter course. The athlete has to navigate their horse over a minimum of 12 obstacles. Those with the cleanest runs and shortest times are awarded the most points. Adding a element of surprise to the event, the athletes don’t actually bring their own horse, but rather are randomly given one twenty minutes before the event.
Laser-Run
The laser run is a combination of two events, that make up the remaining spots in the pentathlon. In 2009, there were changes made towards the format of the game. Previously the shooting event was separate from the running event. It was decided to increase excitement for the final round that these two would be combined. The current model makes each athlete run four 800 meter laps, where five targets must be shot before each lap is ran. This event has been changed several times to now put more of a focus on the shooting elements. The starting position for each athlete is dependent on their placing based on the previous events total points. Athletes with higher ranks get a head start in the race, with the first three crossing the finish line claiming a medals.
Whether you’d like to catch a game of one of the worlds most popular team sports or see the lesser known event in the pentathlon, Tokyo stadium will have plenty of excitement come Tokyo 2020. Being one of the largest venues, it will surely have more than enough seats for you to catch a glimpse of the action.
Location & Transportation
Tokyo stadium is located outside of the actual city of Tokyo. It is actually located in the city of Chofu, a mere 15 minutes away from Shinjuku. A relatively small city with a population of roughly 220,000, it often serves as a commuter destination for city workers. Out of the big lights of downtown Tokyo, Chofu could serve as a great spot to be your home base for Tokyo 2020. It offers a good position to access many different venues in the Tokyo prefecture.
Despite being in Chofu, Tokyo Stadium isn’t actually that close to the Chofu train station. Instead of going to Chofu Station on the Keio Line, you should go two stops beyond to Tobitakyu Station (listed as stop 20). The Keio line is often less busy than the JR Line and cheaper as well, but considering the increased traffic, this will probably change during Tokyo 2020. Tobitakyu station is a mere 6 minute walk from Tokyo Stadium, and can actually be seen from the windows of the train station once exiting the ticket gates to the right.
Upon exiting the station through the northern exit, immediately head to the street to your left. To get to Tokyo Stadium, you simply need to walk straight down this street for several minutes. You will reach a flight of stairs that will lead you up to Tokyo Stadium and it can be immediately seen to your right.
There are alternative means to get to the stadium. If you are closer to Tama station, there are often shuttle buses that will take you directly to the stadium. To get to Tama Station, you can take the Seibu Tamagawa Line. This is a popular way to reach the venue during game days of the J1 League, Japan’s highest level of football. It is unclear if this operation will continue during the games, but there are many other bus stops in the area that will make for easy access. This includes both city buses and shuttle bus services. There are actually seven bus stops directly behind the stadium as well.
Venue
Tokyo Stadium, still currently called Ajinomoto Stadium, is predominately used for football. The renaming of the venue is mandatory, as the International Olympic Committee has a strict no commercialization policy for the venues. Ajinomoto is a big company in Japan that has its influence predominately in the food industry.
Tokyo Stadium is the home field for two main sports teams. This includes F.C. Tokyo in the J1 League and Tokyo Verdy in the J2 League. It does however play host to a variety of other events including concerts, and has even been used as emergency shelter.
Built in 2000 and first opened to the public in 2001, it has some special history to go along with its unique design. Originally the location of a United States military base, it was transformed into the huge venue we see today because of the bases diminished practical use. Due to the suddenly large vacant space, a variety of universities and neighbourhoods in the area, it was decided that a stadium would be a great choice.
Tokyo Stadium has a max capacity of just under 50 000 and features an all grass surface. It has two main levels, with the lower tier seating 29370 and the the upper tier seating 20600. The venue also includes a reception hall for events, VIP seating and two massive screens to view all the action.
There are many entrances to the facility, with four different areas being labeled and colour coordinated . These are aptly named the North, South, East and West entrances. At the back of the stadium there is the parking areas for both pedestrian parking and commuter parking. You can find seven different bus stops for shuttle services. A designated spot for taxis is also nearby close by. There is also an additional parking lot mere moments away.
Apart from the venue itself, there are a variety of restaurants in the surrounding area. There are about 8 restaurants in an area called The Pocket Garden. Filled with both fast food, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and more sit down family style restaurants as well. On the opposite side of the gates is a small sports apparel shop that specializes in soccer fan gear and equipment.
It needs to be noted that beside Tokyo Stadium, literally a thirty second walk away, is another massive sports complex called, Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. It will host badminton and parts of the pentathlon. There are two buildings to the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, one for everyday use as a gym and the other for more large scale events.
Bound to be a packed place in two years time, with a couple tremendously popular sports and one unique event. The city of Chofu will play an important role for the games. Not only is the venue itself have a cool unique vibe, but an area already known for its rabid sports fan, is sure to be in full throttle come Tokyo 2020.
If you wish to get in touch, you can contact me at Shotarohmoore@hotmail.com.
