Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome, adjacent to the predecessor ballpark, Korakuen Stadium. It has a maximum total capacity of 57,000 depending on configuration, with an all-seating configuration of 42,000.
Tokyo Dome's original nickname was "The Big Egg", with some calling it the "Tokyo Big Egg". Its dome-shaped roof is an air-supported structure, a flexible membrane supported by slightly pressurizing the inside of the stadium.
It became the first Japanese venue with an American football attendance above 50,000.
It is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, and has also hosted music concerts, basketball, American football and association football games, as well as puroresu matches, mixed martial arts events, kickboxing events, and monster truck races. It is also the location of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame which chronicles the history of baseball in Japan.
The Tokyo Dome was developed by Nikken Sekkei and Takenaka Corporation.
The Tokyo Dome is commonly used in Japan as a measure for illustrating the size of large spaces in Japan, much the same way that football fields are used in the United States.
Tokyo Dome City
Tokyo Dome is part of a greater entertainment complex known as Tokyo Dome City, built of the grounds of the former Tokyo Koishikawa arsenal. Tokyo Dome City includes an amusement park and Tokyo Dome City Attractions. This amusement park occupies the former Korakuen Stadium site and includes a roller coaster named Thunder Dolphin and a hubless Ferris wheel. The grounds also have an onsen called Spa LaQua, various shops, restaurants, video game centers, the largest JRA WINS horse race betting complex in Tokyo, and Oft Korakuen, which caters to rural horse races.Notable performances
was the first international act to play in the Tokyo Dome on March 22 and 23, 1988. Bon Jovi followed suit and played at the Tokyo Dome on 31 December 1988. The band has since performed a total of 19 concerts at Tokyo Dome, most recently in 2010 as part of The Circle Tour. Mariah Carey's three sold-out shows at the Dome during her 1996 Daydream World Tour on March 7, 10, and 14 set records when all 150,000 tickets sold in under 3 hours. She later performed at the Dome for 4 nights during her 1998 Butterfly World Tour on January 11, 14, 17, 20, and 2 nights during her 2000 Rainbow World Tour on March 7 and 9. Overall, Carey performed at the Tokyo Dome 9 sold-out concerts to date. She holds the record for the most number of sold-out shows performed at the venue for a female solo artist, both in her country of origin and international. The second is Janet Jackson with a total of 8 shows, who performed at the Dome in 1990, selling out four shows in 7 minutes, setting a record for the fastest sellout in the history of Tokyo Dome. This record was later surpassed by Japanese rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel.Superstar Michael Jackson performed 20 concerts during his 3 solo world tours. In 1988, for his Bad World Tour Jackson performed 8 concerts on December 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26 in front of 405,000 people. In 1992, for his Dangerous World Tour, 8 concerts on December 12, 14, 17, 19, 22, 24, 30 and 31 in front of 360,000 people and in 1996, for his HIStory World Tour, 4 concerts on December 13, 15, 17 and 20.
U2 ended their 1992-93's ZooTV Tour with two concerts on 9 and 10 December 1993.
Guns N' Roses performed 3 concerts on February 19, 20, and 22 in 1992, which were followed by the double DVD "Use Your Illusion World Tour".
Kylie Minogue performed on 6 October 1989 in front of 38,000 during her Disco in Dream Tour.
On January 31 and February 1, 1999, Canadian superstar Celine Dion performed two sold-out shows in front of 50,000 each night as a part of her Lets Talk About Love World Tour. Dion returned to the venue in 2008 on March 8 and 9 as a part of her Taking Chances World Tour selling out both shows in minutes, Dion would perform with rising star Yuna Ito, kick-starting her career. Dion was scheduled to appear at the venue for 2 sold-out shows on November 18 and 19 2014 which sold out immediately, with another two dates rumored to be announced, however, the tour was canceled due to her husband's illness. Dion again returned to the venue on June 26, 2018, as a part of her Celine Dion Live 2018 Tour, performing to a sold-out crowd of 42,000 fans
Heavy metal band X Japan has performed at Tokyo Dome many times, including their last concert with former bassist Taiji on January 7, 1992 and their last concert before disbanding on December 31, 1997. The arena also hosted their first concerts after reuniting in 2007; March 28–30, 2008.
Yellow Magic Orchestra played two sold-out concerts at the arena on June 10–11, 1993. This was their only two concerts since their dissolution in 1983 and would be their last until their reformation in 2007.
Since 1996, the talent agency Johnny and Associates organized a New Year's Eve live concert known as Johnny's Countdown. The event is broadcast nationwide on Fuji Television with members of the agency performing their songs from the past and present including Arashi, Kinki Kids, and V6.
Japanese multi-genre band Judy and Mary performed on 7 & 8 March 2001 as their final performances as a band in support of their final album Warp. The 8 March 2001 concert was recorded for VHS and DVD and at 140 minutes was the longest concert Judy and Mary had performed.
Madonna performed at Tokyo Dome seven times, the first time in 1993 with five sold-out shows at dome on December 13, 14, 16, 17 and 19 during her The Girlie Show Tour, Thirteen years later, Madonna returned to perform at Tokyo Dome with two sold-out shows in front of 71,231 fans at the venue on September 20 and 21, 2006, as part of her Confessions Tour.
Britney Spears performed for a sold-out crowd as part of her Dream Within a Dream Tour on April 5, 2002.
Rain was the first Korean artist to perform at the Tokyo Dome. His concert at the Tokyo Dome on May 25, 2007, attracted nearly 45,000 people.
On July 22, 2007, Kinki Kids held their 10th-anniversary concert at Tokyo Dome, which drew a crowd of about 67,000 fans, making it the biggest concert ever held at the Dome. The record was previously held by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi in 1992 when his concert drew an audience of 65,000.
On December 22, 2007, Hey! Say! JUMP held their debut concert Hey! Say! JUMP Debut & First Concert Ikinari! in Tokyo Dome. They became the youngest group ever to perform in Tokyo Dome with the average age of 15.7 years old.
In July 2009, TVXQ, the first Korean Group who performed in Tokyo dome, played the last two shows of their 4th Live Tour 2009: The Secret Code at the Tokyo Dome.
Rock band Luna Sea held a one-night reunion concert titled "God Bless You ~One Night Dejavu~" on December 24, 2007.
Electronic J-pop band Perfume performed one concert on 3 November 2010 titled "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11" to mark their 10th going into 11th year as a band. Perfume was the second ever girl group after Speed to perform in Tokyo Dome. On 2013, Perfume performed another show for their LEVEL 3 album. On February 25, 2020, Perfume returned again to perform a show at Tokyo Dome for their First Nationwide Dome 8th tour "P Cubed" for two days. The second day of the show was canceled due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.
In December 2010, Luna Sea performed three consecutive days at the arena during their "20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon-" limited reunion world tour. The first two concerts on December 23–24 were a formal part of the tour, where they performed their popular songs as well as two new ones. The last day, December 25, was a free, black clothing only concert titled "Lunacy Kurofuku Gentei Gig ~the Holy Night~" with an attendance of 50,000 people, chosen out of the 500,000 applicants where they played only older material.
In December 2011, Japanese voice actress and singer Nana Mizuki became the first ever voice actress to perform at Tokyo Dome, performing December 3–4 to a total crowd of 80,000 fans for Live Castle 2011 Queen & King. She later held another 2 day concert called Live Galaxy Genesis & Frontier there in April 2016 to a total crowd of 80,000 fans, still remaining the only voice actress to perform there under her own name.
In 2012, Korean boy group Super Junior performed on May 12 and 13 at Tokyo Dome for their Super Show 4 world concert tour. 110,392 fans filled the venue. Following their successful Super Show 4 during the previous year, Super Junior held their concert for their 2013 Super Show 5 world tour at Tokyo Dome. With their two-day tour on July 27 and 28, Super Junior was able to bring approximately 110,468 audiences. Super Junior again held a concert at the Tokyo Dome for their third world concert tour, Super Show 6 in October 2014. There were an estimated 112,388 fans who attended the concert. In 2018 Super Junior returned to Tokyo Dome after four years with their Super Show 7 World Tour on November 30 and December 1.
In August 2012, Japan's biggest girl group AKB48 performed there for their concert AKB48 in TOKYO DOME ~1830mの夢~ or translated in English, "AKB48 in TOKYO DOME ~The 1830m Dream", along with their other sister groups. 1830m is the distance between the theater and the dome itself. It was their dream to perform in the dome and they finally achieved it after 7 years. This concert is also known for being Atsuko Maeda's graduation concert as well. Also in 2013, AKB48 held their AKB48・2013真夏のドームツアー ～まだまだ、やらなきゃいけないことがある～ or in English, AKB48 2013 Midsummer Dome Tour ～There are still a few things we have to do～ and this includes Tokyo Dome as well. This tour is known for the graduations of Mariko Shinoda, Tomomi Itano and Sayaka Akimoto.
In December 2012, Korean boy group Big Bang performed at Tokyo Dome for their Alive Tour. They returned to Tokyo in 2013 for their Japan Dome Tour and bringing in 152,420 fans for a 3-day concert. In 2014, they returned to Tokyo for their X Tour and performed for 3 days bringing in 150,000 fans.
In April 2013, Korean boy group 2PM held the two night Legend of 2PM in Tokyo Dome concert. All 55,000 seats for both days were sold out, making it 110,000 fans in total.
In 2013 Kara became the first Korean girl group to perform at the Tokyo Dome. The concert sold out the available 45,000 tickets within five minutes.
In 2014, Girls' Generation performed their successful solo concert at the Tokyo Dome on December 9, 2014, and became the second Korean girl group to perform at the Dome. The concert sold out all 55,000 seats.
SHINee closed out their successful "SHINee World 2014 ~ I’m Your Boy" at the Tokyo Dome, making it the group's first Tokyo Dome concert. The event was held over 2 nights on March 14–15. Each night of the concert lasted almost 3 hours with over 25 songs performed.
Taylor Swift performed two sold-out shows in front of 100,320 fans at the venue on May 5 and 6, 2015, as part of her The 1989 World Tour, which were her first two performances for that tour.
In 2015, South Korean boy band Exo performed at Tokyo Dome from November 6 to November 8 as part of their "Exo Planet ＃2 - The Exo'luxion" world tour.
In 2016, a group called μ's, which belongs to Japanese multimedia project LoveLive! performed for approximately 250,000 fans at Tokyo Dome and live viewing from 31 March to 1 April 2016 for their final live show titled "μ's Final LoveLive!μ"sic Forever". Live viewing of the event was made throughout Japan and 10 other Asia and Oceanic countries, with 221 from Japan and 30 from 10 other Asia and Oceanic countries.
In 2017, Nogizaka46 held the successful national tour concluded with a two-day performance for 100,000 fans at Tokyo Dome. They are the first artist from Sakamichi Series hold the concert at this dome.
The Sandaime J Soul Brothers' Live Tour 2017 UNKNOWN METROPOLIZ dome tour currently holds the record of the most performances in Tokyo Dome with a total of ten days in it.
A group called Aqours, which belongs to the Japanese multimedia project LoveLive! Sunshine!! performed their 4th live titled "Aqours 4th LoveLive! ～Sailing to the Sunshine～" on 17 and 18 November 2018 to ~60,000 fans for each day with more watching at live viewings across Japan and other Asian countries.
In 2018 BTS begun their Japanese leg at the Tokyo Dome on November 13 and 14.
In 2019 Twice performed for two days at the Tokyo Dome as part of their ”#Dreamday Dome Tour” on March 29 and 30. They are the first Korean girl group to hold a dome tour. Both shows combined sold out 100,000 seats in 1 minute.
Also the South Korean girl group BLACKPINK successfully held its first Tokyo Dome on December 4 2019, with the attendance reaching about 55,000 fans marking the beginning of their dome tour.
On December 25, 2019, Arashi held a concert at Tokyo Dome as the end of "ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5×20", which starts from November 2018 and is also the largest dome tour in history.
Notable events
In 1989, the United States Hot Rod Association hosted one of the first monster truck rallies outside North America at the Tokyo Dome.Professional wrestling
has held a flagship professional wrestling event at Tokyo Dome, currently titled Wrestle Kingdom, on January 4 of each year, since 1992. The event is the biggest in Japanese professional wrestling, and has been compared to the U.S. event WrestleMania in terms of size and significance.Other companies such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and WWE had previously done major events in the Tokyo Dome as well.
Boxing
In boxing, Mike Tyson fought twice in Tokyo Dome — a successful undisputed title defense against Tony Tubbs in 1988, and in a loss considered to be one of the biggest upsets in sports history to James "Buster" Douglas in 1990.Kickboxing
The final round of the K-1 World Grand Prix was held at the Tokyo Dome from 1997 to 2006.Mixed martial arts
The Tokyo Dome hosted seven Pride FC mixed martial arts fights: Pride 1, Pride 4, Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round, Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals, Pride 17, Pride 23, and Pride Final Conflict 2003. The last event had an attendance of 67,451.Baseball
The Tokyo Dome has held various Major League Baseball games to open the seasons, with the first series—a two-game slate between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in 2000—being the first time American MLB teams have played regular season games in Asia. Four years later, the New York Yankees, featuring former Yomiuri Giants slugger/outfielder Hideki Matsui in their lineup, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played two games in the stadium to start the 2004 season. The Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics opened the 2008 MLB season in Japan, and also competed against Japanese teams. To open the 2012 season the Seattle Mariners and the Athletics, the former of which had Ichiro Suzuki, played a two-game series on March 28–29. In game one Seattle – led by Ichiro's 4 hits – won 3–1 in 11 innings. The Mariners and Athletics returned to the Tokyo Dome to begin the 2019 Major League Baseball season, with Ichiro retiring from professional baseball after the second game.The 2017 World Baseball Classic played select games in the first and second round in the Tokyo Dome in March 2017.
| Date | Winning Team | Result | Losing Team | Attendance |
| March 29, 2000 | Chicago Cubs | 5–3 | New York Mets | 55,000 |
| March 30, 2000 | New York Mets | 5–1 | Chicago Cubs | 55,000 |
| March 30, 2004 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 8–3 | New York Yankees | 55,000 |
| March 31, 2004 | New York Yankees | 12–1 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 55,000 |
| March 25, 2008 | Boston Red Sox | 6–5 | Oakland Athletics | 44,628 |
| March 26, 2008 | Oakland Athletics | 5–1 | Boston Red Sox | 44,735 |
| March 28, 2012 | Seattle Mariners | 3–1 | Oakland Athletics | 44,227 |
| March 29, 2012 | Oakland Athletics | 4–1 | Seattle Mariners | 43,391 |
| March 20, 2019 | Seattle Mariners | 9–7 | Oakland Athletics | 45,787 |
| March 21, 2019 | Seattle Mariners | 5–4 | Oakland Athletics | 46,451 |
American football
As part of the American Bowl, the Tokyo Dome held 13 National Football League preseason games between 1989 and 2005. In the 1996 game between the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, three Japanese linebackers – Takuro Abe, Shigemasa Ito, and Takahiro Ikenoue of the World League of American Football – became the first Japanese players to participate in an NFL game; Abe and Ito sporadically appeared on special teams for the Chargers, while Ikenoue was part of the Steelers' defense.| Date | Winning Team | Result | Losing Team | Attendance |
| August 6, 1989 | Los Angeles Rams | 16–13 | San Francisco 49ers | 43,896 |
| August 5, 1990 | Denver Broncos | 10–7 | Seattle Seahawks | 48,827 |
| August 4, 1991 | Miami Dolphins | 19–17 | Los Angeles Raiders | - |
| August 2, 1992 | Houston Oilers | 34–23 | Dallas Cowboys | - |
| August 1, 1993 | New Orleans Saints | 28–16 | Philadelphia Eagles | - |
| August 7, 1994 | Minnesota Vikings | 17–9 | Kansas City Chiefs | 49,555 |
| August 6, 1995 | Denver Broncos | 24–10 | San Francisco 49ers | - |
| July 28, 1996 | San Diego Chargers | 20–10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | - |
| August 2, 1998 | Green Bay Packers | 27–24 | Kansas City Chiefs | 42,018 |
| August 6, 2000 | Atlanta Falcons | 27–24 | Dallas Cowboys | - |
| August 2, 2003 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 30–14 | New York Jets | - |
| August 6, 2005 | Atlanta Falcons | 27–21 | Indianapolis Colts | 45,203 |