Our guide to the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan includes information on events, baseball tickets, parking, public transportation, nearby hotels and restaurants, seating and more. Read on to find out how to get the most out of your gameday experience.

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If you’re coming to Japan to watch sports, there’s almost no doubt that a stop at the Tokyo Dome is on your agenda.

The historic indoor stadium has been open nearly 40 years and has enjoyed a prominent place in sports history.

Of course, the Tokyo Dome is most visible in baseball. It serves as the home of the Yomiuri Giants — arguably the most popular franchise in Japanese baseball — and often hosts other baseball events not involving the Giants.

The Tokyo Dome also is the destination for whenever Major League Baseball brings its game to Japan, as it has done five times previously. It will do so again in 2025, when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs play a two-game series there with Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto being the main attractions.

Don’t forget that the stadium was also the upset for one of the biggest upsets in sports history: Buster Douglas’ knockout of Mike Tyson in 1990, and has hosted numerous NFL exhibition games and even a handful of college football games.

And it’s one of the primary venues in Tokyo for large-scale concerts, with some of the biggest musical acts often making a stop at the dome.

Whatever the event, a visit to the Tokyo Dome is a worthy respite to the hustle and bustle of one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

Getting to the Tokyo Dome

Considering the immense size and density of Tokyo, it’s difficult for a first-time visitor to quickly gain a full grasp of the city’s complex layout. As such, pinpointing the location of the Tokyo Dome — in a district, or ward, known as Bunkyo — isn’t of much use to tourists looking to pay a visit.

In general, though, consider the area of the Tokyo Dome to lie north of the most popular tourist districts of the city such as Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ginza, as well as north of the Imperial Palace and National Garden.

Driving in Tokyo is an extremely difficult task for the uninitiated and certainly not advisable for a visitor. So if you’re attending an event at the Tokyo Dome, your best option by far is to make use of the city’s efficient train and subway network to get to the stadium.

Of course, navigating the Tokyo Metro would be a challenge for a visitor as well, but fortunately there’s enough English-language signage to get by in most cases.

For the Tokyo Dome, make your way to one of two stations: Suidobashi, just to the south of the stadium, or Korakuen to the north. Both are short walks across pedestrian bridges and plazas to the dome.

Note that if you’re coming from Shibuya or Shinjuku stations, both of which are near major tourist districts, you’ll need to transfer lines at least once to get to one of the two stations near the dome.

If you’re a foreigner visiting Japan for longer than a few days, it’s worth it to look into the Japan Rail Pass, offered by the JR Railway Company. Starting at around $325 USD (depending on the current exchange rate with the Japanese yen) for a week-long pass, it allows you unlimited use of the Tokyo Metro as well as JR-operated shinkansen, aka bullet trains, all across the country.

Note that the pass is only offered to non-Japanese citizens and must be purchased before the user arrives in Japan.

If your trip to Tokyo revolves largely around an event at the Tokyo Dome such as a Yomiuri Giants or MLB baseball game, you can consider a number of hotels nearby. The closest, conveniently named the Tokyo Dome Hotel, is just across the plaza from the stadium.

Tokyo hotels near the stadium

• Tokyo Dome Hotel – 0.2 miles away
• Richmond Hotel Tokyo Suidobashi – 0.2 miles away
• sequence Suidobashi – Tokyo – 0.3 miles away
Search for more Tokyo hotels on Booking.com.

Map of Tokyo Dome City

Check out rates for hotels near the Tokyo Dome below.

Things to do around the Tokyo Dome

You’ll find an abundance of things to do no matter where you are in the heart of Tokyo, but that’s especially true around the dome, and definitely true if there’s an event happening that day.

The perimeter of the dome itself houses a handful of shops and restaurants, including the Giants’ team store and a Shake Shack. These are accessible to everyone and typically stay open until close to the start time of whatever event is happening inside the Tokyo Dome.

The immediate area around the stadium is known as Tokyo Dome City, comprising not just the venue but a complex that features an amusement park and a mall. The amusement park includes several roller coasters, a Ferris wheel and a drop tower, and many of these attractions are easily visible from a distance — more so than the dome itself.

If you’re not into rides, there’s a lot more nearby, including a bowling alley, a roller skating rink and a kids’ playground.

Head north of the dome across a pedestrian bridge to find the LaQua shopping mall, which contains not just shops but a number of eateries as well — including a few chains prevalent in the United States, such as Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Baskin-Robbins and Starbucks.

Beyond that, exploring the surrounding Suidobashi neighborhood would serve as a fine introduction to a less touristy part of Tokyo. Walk down narrow streets and alleys to find small restaurants serving sushi, ramen and other well-known Japanese cuisine.

Or for a quick bite, visit a Japanese convenience store, known as konbini. Large chains 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart all have stores within a short walk of the Tokyo Dome.

Finally, to gain a deeper understanding of Japanese baseball and how important the sport is to the country’s culture, visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located within the Tokyo Dome. Adult admission costs 600 yen (about $4 USD) and the museum typically stays open later on days when there’s a game.

Tokyo restaurants near the stadium

• Shake Shack – burgers, 0.0 miles away
• Ippudo Tokyo Dome City – Japanese, 0.1 miles away
• Jojoen Tokyo Dome City – Japanese, 0.1 miles away
Search for more Tokyo restaurants on Tripadvisor.

Watching a game at the Tokyo Dome

With the nickname “The Big Egg,” the Tokyo Dome can look impressive from the outside, and perhaps even a little imposing. Once you get inside, though, it looks like many stadiums in the U.S., especially those of the older variety.

In particular, if you’ve ever attended an event in one of those old facilities that has a fabric, air-supported roof such as the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Tokyo Dome is pretty much just like that.

The venue has a fairly standard three-level layout, with an upper and lower seating deck and the middle one reserved for club seating and suites. The lower level wraps around the outfield as well, providing a tier of seating in right and center fields, with the required gap for the batter’s eye in center field.

If its your first time watching a baseball game in Japan, you’ll want to keep your eyes trained on these outfield seats at the Tokyo Dome. As is customary around Japanese baseball, the two teams’ supporter groups take up residence on the opposing sides, usually with drums and other instruments at the ready.

They wave banners and flags throughout the game and often have specific chants and songs for each individual member of their team’s lineup. Watching them can make a Japanese baseball game worth the price of admission on their own.

Beyond that, soak in all of the quirkiness of watching a familiar game in a foreign land, with scoreboard signage, advertising and PA announcements in Japanese. However, most of the signage around the venue has enough English, or at least pictures, for a non-Japanese speaker to at least be able to get around.

Food and drink at the Tokyo Dome

Perhaps the most fun you’ll have watching a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome is when you get out of your seat to find something to eat or drink.

You’ll be able to find traditional (read: American) ballpark staples such as hamburgers, hot dogs and popcorn, as well as Japanese items like beef bowls, chicken kaarage and edamame.

The adventurous part comes out of the fact that the menu boards have precious little English. The good news is nearly every item sold at every concession stand has a picture along with the accompanying price, so at least you’ll have a decent idea of what you’re ordering. If the person on the other side of the counter speaks no English, simply point to the item on the menu that you wish to purchase.

Full-on bento boxes are also available at many concession stands, and you’ll be able to find roaming beer vendors selling Asahi, Sapporo and other prevalent Japanese brands.

Food can be brought into the Tokyo Dome per regulations, though outside alcoholic drinks and beverages are not allowed.

Original publish date: November 15, 2024

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