Written by JC Team
For 16 days this autumn, Nagoya and the rest of Aichi turn into the center of Asian sport. The 20th Asian Games bring 45 countries and territories and up to 15,000 athletes and team officials to venues across the prefecture.
What to expect
43 sports at 54 venues, most of them existing Aichi facilities rather than new builds. Alongside the familiar Olympic roster you get sports that are hard to watch live anywhere else — sepaktakraw, kabaddi, soft tennis, wushu — plus esports, skateboarding and BMX freestyle sharing a hall at Aichi Sky Expo.
The opening ceremony is at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya at 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, and the closing ceremony is in the same stadium at 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 4.
Schedule
The official games period is Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, October 4, 2026. Competition, though, starts well before the flame does: the first session on the organizers’ own schedule is men’s basketball at 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 10 at Aichi International Arena, nine days ahead of the ceremony. The football tournaments start on September 14 (women) and September 15 (men).
Tickets 2026
General sale opened at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30 and runs until each session begins. It is first-come, first-served — there is no lottery — and the organizers list no regional restrictions, so overseas buyers can use it.
You need a free Supporter ID (ōen ID) before you can buy anything. Register it on the official ticket site, then buy there or through Ticket Pia, TBS Tickets or CBC Ticket Center. Competition sessions start at ¥1,000; opening-ceremony seats run from ¥7,500 at the back up to ¥60,000 at the front. There are cheaper tickets for under-15s, for disability-certificate holders and companions, and for wheelchair users.
Sessions do sell out, and the organizers opened an official resale service on August 4 — that is the only legitimate second-hand route. Tickets bought anywhere unofficial will not get you through the gate.
One thing to plan for: for the opening and closing ceremonies you have to register everyone in your party in advance, and every person is ID-checked on the way in.
How to get there
Nagoya is about 1 hour 40 minutes from Tokyo and about 50 minutes from Shin-Ōsaka on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. Venues are scattered around Aichi rather than clustered in one park, so check the venue access page on the official ticket site for the session you have booked before you plan the day around it.
The Asian Para Games follow in the same region two weeks later.
Note that dates, opening hours, and prices are subject to change, so make sure to check the official website before you go.
Organizers may cancel events, alter schedules, or change admission requirements without notice. Always check official sites before heading to an event.