The Yoyogi area in central Tokyo is best-known today for its eponymous Yoyogi Park, which sprawls across downtown Tokyo, sandwiched between the lively Shinjuku, Shibuya and Omotesando-Harajuku districts. The park, which opened in 1967, is today a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in spring, experiences the cinematic autumn leaves phenomena in fall, and is home to Meiji Jingu, one of Tokyo’s most significant Shinto shrines, which deifies the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken.
Yoyogi, however, also has rich Olympic history going back to Tokyo’s first Olympic Games in 1964, which profoundly helped lay the groundwork for the global city Tokyo would eventually become. Visual reminders of this era include Yoyogi National Gymnasium and a legacy construction, the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, which is still used as a sports, arts and events center, as well as for accommodation purposes.
In 2021, Yoyogi once again became the capital’s hub for the Tokyo 2020 Games.