Having hosted the Olympic Games, Tokyo is now limbering up to welcome the World Athletics Championships this September. If you're planning a trip to Japan, we've gone the extra mile to land some useful travel tips.
2025 World Athletics Championships
Tokyo is primed for the 20th World Athletics Championships, taking place from September 13-21 at the state-of-the-art Japan National Stadium. The event comes five years after the city hosted the 2020 Olympic Games behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The capital, which last hosted the Championships in 1991, is now gearing up for the prestigious event, which will feature 49 track and field events to be competed by more than 2000 athletes from 200 countries.
A total of 700,000 tickets are available, with 70% priced at an affordable $65 or less. Athletics fans can register to receive news about ticket sales at the only official source for tickets.
The stadium, which is central in the capital, can be easily reached by public transport, while the closest metro stations are Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō Station (Oedo Line) and Sendagaya Station (Chūō-Sōbu Line). A Suiça or Pasmo card will make it easy to utilise trains, buses and Metro lines across the metropolis.
Enjoying Tokyo and Japan
If you want to enjoy the culture as well as the athletics, then you'll be spoilt for choice in a city where innovation and quirkiness seamlessly stand shoulder to shoulder with history.
Want to look your best while exploring the city? Conde Nast Traveller has a fascinating article on what to wear in Tokyo. Writer Bianca Kratky offers a list of what to pack for Tokyo, and look chic while respecting Japan's unwritten fashion rules.
Conde Nast Traveller has also offered a fascinating piece on where to find the best ryokans in Japan as new trends emerge. Ryokans are essentially 'inns' that lie at the heart of Japanese culture and are renowned for their home-cooked meals on cushioned floors and snug sleeps on tatami mats.
As events go, the World Athletics Championship is not the only one in Tokyo in September. You could catch one of the biggest musical events of the year with Ultra Japan 2025 at Odaiba Ultra Park on September 13-14. The festival, the Asian edition of the Ultra Festival brand, aims to bring the biggest names on the global electronic music scene.
If art is your indulgence, visit Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park for Japan's largest collection of art and archaeological objects, ranging from noh masks to samurai armour.
Pop to the National Museum of Western Art for Renaissance and Baroque paintings, or if contemporary art turns your head, then visit the cosmopolitan Roppongi district, home to the Roppongi Art Night festival every September and several leading art venues. These are among several excellent suggestions from the ever-reliable National Geographic.
Tokyo is noted for its quirkiness and out-there approaches to life. So it's no surprise that you can pick up one of the more memorable and interactive experiences by exploring 17 iconic toilets around a Tokyo district.
Perfectly legal, the Tokyo Toilet Project was conceived as a collaboration between the Shibuya government, Koji Yanai of clothing giant Uniqlo and the philanthropic nonprofit Nippon Foundation to revamp a series of public toilets that had seen better days. Wise Traveller enables you to discover all the ins and outs of the tour.
With gastronomy high on the list to experience in Tokyo, this in-depth article will offer an understanding why Tokyo has been the world's top city for Michelin-starred restaurants for 18 consecutive years. The 2025 edition features 504 restaurants, including 12 three-star, 25 two-star, and 132 one-star establishments, truly making it a treasure trove of fine dining.
If the seething metropolis gets too much, take yourself off to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to recalibrate. Quietly enjoy the traditional Japanese gardens and English-style landscaping.
If the athletics inspires you, Matador has shared an article on the best trekking and multi-day hikes from summit seekers to wildlife explorers to wannabe poets with the seven most beautiful distance hikes in Japan.
For a glimpse into the beauty of Japan, this article from Wanderlust also offers an off-the-beaten-path experience in Toyama Prefecture.
If you are on a budget, then check Lauren Juliff's highly informative experience on the Never Ending Footsteps blog that covers how much she spent on accommodation, transportation, activities, food, and other items while in Japan.
And finally, we loved reading this article on BBC Travel discussing how to beat the heat with several cooling dishes. These regional shokibarai (literally: "beating the summer heat") meals range from icy noodles to refreshing rice cakes.
Andy Probert is an independent journalist who writes about global travel news, airlines, airports, and business. His work has appeared globally on the BBC, and in many national newspapers and magazines.
