Yoyogi Park Audio Guide

Yoyogi Park: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Yoyogi Park

   Welcome to Yoyogi Park, one of the largest green spaces in Tokyo and one of its most beloved. You are in Shibuya, right beside Harajuku Station and the grounds of Meiji Shrine, in the district of Yoyogikamizonocho. Step in from the crowded streets and the city seems to loosen its collar. What makes this park special is that it has no single personality. It is a place for picnics, bike rides and quiet walks under the trees, but it is also a stage. On Sundays especially, rock music fans, jugglers, comedians, martial arts clubs, cosplayers and all sorts of hobby groups turn the open spaces into an informal festival. Over the next few minutes we will dig into the layers beneath your feet. A pioneering airplane flight, a postwar American barracks, an Olympic Village, a landmark gymnasium, and a park that today belongs to everyone. Let's begin.

2. 02

   From First Flight to Washington Heights

   Picture this ground in the first decade of the twentieth century. This is where aviation in Japan took off, quite literally. On the nineteenth of December, 1910, Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa made the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan from this site. Today you are surrounded by lawns and trees, but a little over a century ago this was an open field where a fragile machine left the ground. The story of the land keeps turning. In 1945, during the Allied occupation of Japan, the area became the site of a United States military barracks known as Washington Heights. So within the span of a few decades, the same ground saw a pioneering flight and then the arrival of an occupying army. The official Tokyo tourism guide describes the history of the site as a compelling glimpse into Japan's modern development, moving from fascist military power, to developing democracy, to booming capitalist society. It is a good way to think about it as you walk. The relaxed scene around you is the latest chapter, not the first.

3. 03

   The Olympic Years and the Gymnasium

   Then came 1964, when Tokyo hosted the Olympics for the first time. Yoyogi was the central gathering point of those Games. The Olympic Village stood on the land that would later become this park, and Yoyogi National Gymnasium was one of the main venues, along with the National Stadium. The gymnasium is still here, and it is one of Japan's most famous stadiums and a celebrated example of modern architecture. Its design was meant to sit in harmony with the surrounding greenery. In 1964 it hosted basketball, diving and swimming events. Today it continues to host sports competitions and public events, including concerts and cultural gatherings. The building had a second Olympic moment. When the Tokyo Olympic Games took place in 2021, a year later than planned because of the pandemic, the gymnasium hosted the handball events. After the 1964 Games the Olympic Village site became a city park in 1967. That year most of the area north of the gymnasium complex and south of Meiji Shrine was absorbed into Yoyogi Park, giving it much of the shape you see now.

4. 04

   A Park of Many Tribes and Seasons

   Now let's talk about what the park is like today. Compared with parks famous for flower varieties or traditional design, Yoyogi Park draws people with straightforward functionality and an eclectic mix of characters. Punk rockers, martial arts club members and cosplayers gather here, while amateur athletes use the soccer field, hockey field and cycling course. Families and couples spread out picnics on weekends, and you can rent a bicycle to ride the cycling path. There are also public sport courts and a dog run. The park has a busy event calendar too. Gatherings such as Tokyo Rainbow Pride and Earth Day take place here, along with music and food festivals, concerts, and performances by street musicians and artists. The seasons add their own color. Yoyogi may not have the most cherry trees in Tokyo, but it has hundreds, and in spring thousands of people come for hanami, the tradition of enjoying the blossoms, in what feels like one big communal party. In autumn the ginkgo trees turn lively shades. The park also holds flower gardens, ponds, a clock tower and an observation deck. The park's recent history includes one unusual chapter. In 2014 Tokyo had one of its worst dengue fever outbreaks in a hundred years, with nearly 200 confirmed cases. Scientists using gene sequencing determined that it began here. The park closed on the fourth of September, no further cases were found after the eighteenth of September, and it reopened on the thirty-first of October.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   As you wander on, keep an eye out for the layers we have talked about. A patch of open lawn where an early aircraft once took to the air. A gymnasium that has served the Olympics twice, in 1964 and again for the Games held in 2021. Groups of people who have made this place their weekend stage. If you are planning your route, Harajuku Station on the Japan Railways Yamanote Line, Yoyogi-koen Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and Meiji-Jingumae Station on the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line are all quick ways in. Yoyogi-koen Station is about three minutes on foot from the park. Neighboring Meiji Shrine is close at hand, and Omotesando Avenue offers a half-day of shopping nearby. So here is something to try. Pick a spot, sit for a while, and see which tribe of Yoyogi turns up first. What the park shows you may change depending on the day, the season, and the music drifting across the grass.