Tokyo Dome

The Big Egg of Japanese sports and entertainment.

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). Construction began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It has a maximum total capacity of 57,000 depending on configuration, with an all-seating configuration of 42,000. Its dome-shaped roof is an air-supported structure, a cable-reinforced 0.8 mm flexible fiberglass membrane supported by slightly pressurizing the inside of the stadium with 150,000 m³/hour using independent blowers. It was developed by Nikken Sekkei and Takenaka Corporation, and modeled after the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Quick Facts

Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Primary njpw event: Wrestle Kingdom (January 4)

Lore & Background

Tokyo Dome is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. The first event in the dome was a Yomiuri Giants game on March 18, 1988. In April 1988, Hibari Misora performed her 'Phoenix' tour there. The stadium has hosted international baseball tournaments such as the World Baseball Classic, WBSC Premier12, and Major League Baseball games, as well as music concerts, basketball, American football, association football, puroresu (pro-wrestling) matches, mixed martial arts events, kickboxing events, and monster truck races. It became the first Japanese venue with an American football attendance above 50,000. The stadium has undergone two renovations: the first beginning in 2016 and the second beginning in 2021. Tokyo Dome is part of the Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex, built on the grounds of the former Tokyo Koishikawa Arsenal.

Reader's Guide

Tokyo Dome is located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It is part of the Tokyo Dome City complex, which includes an amusement park (with a roller coaster named Thunder Dolphin and a hubless Ferris wheel), an onsen called Spa LaQua, shops, restaurants, video game centers, the largest JRA WINS horse race betting complex in Tokyo, and Oft Korakuen. The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame is also located at Tokyo Dome.

Did You Know?

The first professional wrestling event at Tokyo Dome was UWF's 'UWF in Tokyo Dome' on November 10, 1988.
The Alfee held the first concert at Tokyo Dome on March 19 and 20, 1988, two days after the dome opened.
Mick Jagger became the first non-Japanese artist to perform at Tokyo Dome on March 22 and 23, 1988.