Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park opened on October 20, 1967, on ground with a layered past: an army parade ground, then Washington Heights, the postwar housing estate for US forces, then the athletes' village for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. One building from the village still stands just inside the Harajuku gate, the lodging used by the Dutch team, and since April 2026 it has been a café. The park covers about 54 hectares and a road splits it in two. The A side is the woodland: lawns, a bird sanctuary, a dog run, a cycling center and a set of three fountains finished in 1991, with trees that have grown into one forest with Meiji Shrine's grounds next door. The B side has the Oda Field athletics track and the outdoor stage, and that is where the weekend festivals set up. On a fine Sunday every patch of grass is taken by picnics, musicians and people practicing dance routines. In cherry season the lawns under the Somei-yoshino trees fill early and the paths near Harajuku are packed; autumn is calmer, when the ginkgo turn yellow. Entry is free and the gates never close, but the 65-space paid car park fills on weekends, so come by train.