The 2020 Olympics will take place in Tokyo from July 24th this year. Although I feel proud as a Tokyoite, I worry about the traffic congestion during the Olympic games.
I recently visited the National Stadium, which was completed last year in the downtown Tokyo area. The stadium was first built in the early 1960s for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and it was rebuilt last year. The new stadium was planned by famous architect Kuma Kengo, who also designed several railway stations such as Keio's Takao-sanguchi and JR East's Hoshakuji. A large amount of timber has been used in the stadium building and many plants have been grown in the stadium corridors. Although I couldn't observe the inside of the stadium, I was able to take a picture of the colorful audience seats with the running track and lawn field from outside using a telescope lens.
To visit the National Stadium, the nearest station is Kokuritsu-kyogijo (the National Stadium) on the subway Oedo line. The Oedo line is the second newest subway route in Tokyo, and is operated by the Transportation Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Toei). Kokuritsu-kyogijo station was opened in 1991, when the Oedo line was inaugurated. I don't think that the station is large enough to accommodate the regiments of passengers during the Olympic games. I recommend that the audience also use Sendagaya station on the JR East Sobu line, as it is larger. Sendagaya is a 5-minute walk from the stadium.
