Yoyogi National Stadium

Harajuku & Aoyama


This early masterpiece by architect Tange Kenzō was built for the 1964 Olympics (and will be used again in the 2020 games for the handball event). The stadium, which looks vaguely like a samurai helmet, uses suspension-bridge technology – rather than beams – to support the roof.

Transportation

  • train: JR Yamanote line to Harajuku, Omote-sandō exit

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Harajuku & Aoyama attractions

1. Yoyogi-kōen

0.23 MILES

If it’s a sunny and warm weekend afternoon, you can count on there being a crowd lazing around the large grassy expanse that is Yoyogi-kōen. You'll…

2. Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Museum of Art

0.29 MILES

This small museum (where you swap your shoes for slippers) is the best place in Tokyo to see ukiyo-e. Each month it presents a seasonal, thematic…

3. Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku

0.31 MILES

The entrance to this castle-like structure by Nakamura Hiroshi is a dizzying hall of mirrors (which makes for a great photo); there’s a roof garden on top.

4. Takeshita-dōri

0.32 MILES

This is Tokyo’s famous fashion bazaar. It's an odd mixed bag: newer shops selling trendy, youthful styles alongside stores still invested in the trappings…

5. Cat Street

0.34 MILES

Had enough of the Harajuku crowds? Exit, stage right, for Cat Street, a meandering car-free road with a mishmash of boutiques and a little more breathing…

6. Dior Omote-sandō

0.39 MILES

This five-storey glass building (2003) uses clever lighting and acrylic screens to pull off the effortlessly chic look of a breezy tiered skirt. Pritzker…

7. Kawaii Monster Cafe

0.41 MILES

Artist and stylist Sebastian Masuda is behind the lurid colours, surrealist installations and other-worldly outfits of this darkly cute cafe. In the…

8. Omotesandō Hills

0.44 MILES

This deceptively deep concrete mall (2003), designed by Tadao Ando, spirals around a sunken atrium. Andō’s architecture utilises materials such as…

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