The Nippon Budokan (Japanese: 日本武道館, Hepburn: Nippon Budōkan; lit. 'Japan Martial Arts Hall'), often shortened to simply the Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wrestling for a time, and it has hosted numerous other sporting events, such as the 1967 Women's Volleyball World Championship.
Most recently, the arena hosted the judo and karate competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics and judo at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
I was fortunate enough to see Kyoko Koizumi play two nights at this venue, one of the most historic in the world. Amazing acoustics, plenty of room for Koizumi to have a big stage that let her show off like the legend she is. Westerners will probably find the seating to be a little cramped and if you were sitting in the middle of a row, it would be a pain to get up, but you’re not supposed to get up in the middle of a concert, so….
This is a sports arena with comfortable seating and excellent views. Even from the highest seats, the playing field feels close, and all details are clearly visible.
Inside the building, a corridor surrounds the competition venue, with walls listing the winners of various martial arts competitions over the years.
Iconic music/sports venue. Conveniently located in the center of Tokyo. Arena space is quite small, which is good if you are in it because it's close to the action.
We came at pretty late so it was close. But from the outside, AMAZING. It reminds of Taj Mahal because when I look on top of the building, it is kinda familiar. It’s like a huge stadium where events occur like sumos tournament, the Olympics, etc…
