National Yoyogi Stadium, Second Gymnasium

Kenzo Tange began designing the complex in 1961, together with engineer Yoshikatsu Tsuboi. Both halls were built at the same time and opened on October 10, 1964.

During the 1964 Games, this second hall hosted the basketball tournament while the first hall hosted swimming and diving. At the 2020 Games, the complex was used for handball and various Paralympic events.

The first hall owes its fame to its suspended roof, a structure that was unprecedented at the time. The building inspired the design of the Olympic Stadium in Munich in 1972.

In 1987, Tange received the Pritzker Prize, with the jury describing Yoyogi as one of the most beautiful buildings of the twentieth century. In 2021, it was designated an important cultural property of Japan.

The Second Gymnasium has 4,002 seats, of which 2,803 are fixed seats and 1,191 are in the arena itself, on a floor area of 1,300 square metres.

The adjacent first arena is considerably larger, with 12,898 seats. The site also has an indoor swimming pool and futsal courts. The owner is the Japan Sport Council.

The Yoyogi complex was the venue for UFC 25, one of the organization’s early events in Japan.