Revisit the Spirit of the Last Tokyo Olympics and Count Down to the Next at Komazawa Olympic Park
Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association
Situated in a predominantly residential part of Setagaya City, southwest of central Tokyo, Komazawa Olympic Park is a delightful area of serene spaciousness and abundant greenery that provides a refreshing change of pace from Tokyo's densely populated urban areas.
Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association
As the name implies, Komazawa Olympic Park was established for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Since then, it has served as a convenient place for Tokyoites to rest, relax, and exercise, as well as a venue for sporting events. Let's learn more about this Tokyo treasure.
Komazawa Olympic Park is massive by Tokyo-park standards, with over 400,000 square meters of land. It has an athletic field capable of accommodating 20,000 spectators, as well as a gymnasium, baseball and other ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, a Japanese archery range, and more.
Sporting History
Long before the 1964 Summer Olympics, this space had served as a sporting ground. Its origin dates back to the early twentieth century, when the grounds were used as a golf course. In fact, Crown Prince Hirohito (who would become Emperor Showa) and Edward, Prince of Wales of the United Kingdom once played there in 1922.
The park was selected as the second site for the 1964 Summer Olympics. After undergoing modifications and remodeling, several facilities were used for events during the games--soccer, wrestling, volleyball, and field hockey.
After the Olympics, the park was opened to the general public on December 1, 1964. The tall, distinctive Olympic Memorial Tower stands proudly over the large central plaza in commemoration of the games, which showed the world a rising Japan that had recovered from World War II. Olympic memorabilia can be seen at the Tokyo Olympic Memorial Gallery in the gymnasium.
A Home for Serious Athletics
Owing to its Olympic legacy, this park boasts the scale and facilities necessary for serious athletics. The main stadium generally hosts amateur and semiprofessional sporting events on the weekends, and the gymnasium hosts national sporting competitions.
Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association
Today, the park is probably best known for the roughly two-kilometer jogging and cycling courses that loop in parallel around the park. With a good portion of the route passing under stately zelkova and cherry trees, the course features clear distance markers and painted lines that separate it into two lanes: blue for bicycles and yellow for joggers.
While most of the park's facilities are outdoors, poor weather need not prevent you from exercising thanks to the indoor training room. A fee of just 450 yen enables use of the weight machines, yoga mats, treadmills, and showers for two hours. On some days there are even group classes offered in the training room's studio, including senior fitness exercise, aerobics, yoga, and Pilates.
Fun for Families
Komazawa Olympic Park is a wonderful place for families, including those who count their pets as family members. Shady trees and grassy open areas invite picnics and flowers can be seen blooming any time of the year. Nursing rooms, diaper-changing stations, benches, and drinking fountains can be found throughout the grounds, and the park has both a shop and a restaurant.
Small children can delight in several facilities designed just for them. First, there are the three children's playgrounds, which are named Horse Park, Pig Park, and Squirrel Park after the animal featured in their playground equipment. These play areas also have sandboxes, slides, swings, and horizontal bars.
Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association
Then, there are two smaller cycling courses just for children, the Chiririn Course and the Chiririn Plaza, with children's bicycle rentals available for a small charge. Finally, the Splashing Pond has both a wading area and a fountain to help kids beat the heat in the summer months.
Meandering paths around the park are great for walking your dog, while the 1,200-square-meter Dog Run is a place for dogs to run unfettered. Moreover, this dog run is available to the public free of charge every day of the year, although registration is required beforehand. Please note, however, that it is very much in demand on weekends and holidays, just like the park in general.
Access
One of the best characteristics of Komazawa Olympic Park is its outstanding location and easy access. Komazawa-daigaku Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line is only a few stops from Shibuya Station. From there it is just ten to fifteen minutes on foot to one of the closer entrances. Tokyu buses from Shibuya Station, JR Ebisu Station, and Todoroki Station also stop at the park, and there are even a couple of parking lots available for those coming by car.
For more information and full facility information follow the link below:
Tokyo Sport Benefits Corporation
This article was written by Noam Katz.
*This article was posted on the Life in Tokyo website operated by the Tokyo International Communication Committee on June 22, 2020.