One year from now, I will probably be sweltering in the Tokyo heat. But the good news is that I will be at my first Summer Olympics, getting a look at one of the world's biggest cities.
Earlier this month, I received my confirmation that I had been granted my first choice for lodging for the two-plus weeks I am scheduled to be in Tokyo. The lodging situation in Japan will be a little different than in my previous two Olympic experiences. In Sochi, the media housing was in what was essentially a hotel where I stayed by myself while in PyeongChang, the media housing was essentially apartments, where I had my own room, but shared a living room and kitchen with two other people.
In Tokyo, because the Olympics are happening in an already bustling metropolis, the media housing will be in existing hotels. Each media member was given a list of the hotels, which included the amenities available and travel times. We were then asked to give our top three choices for lodging. My choices were entirely based on price, since much of this trip I am funding myself (with the help of many wonderful people who have donated). I did receive my first choice, the Tokyo Inn Tozai-sen Nishi-kasai, which runs at $90 a night. So, the total price for the 18 nights I have reserved (the night before the opening ceremony to the night after the closing ceremony) is just more than $1,600. This actually comes in a little under the price for PyeongChang (if I remember correctly), which in turn was less than Sochi.
I’ve spent a little time looking at the schedule for next summer and it looks pretty daunting. In the Winter Olympics, my first choice about things to see was any local connections, so I saw a lot of biathlon, alpine skiing and freestyle skiing. I am anticipating fewer local connections in the Summer Olympics, so there might be more of a chance to see different things. In both Russia and Korea, I was able to see pretty much every venue and most every sport, but that certainly will not happen in Tokyo, as the schedule includes a lot more different sports. All told there will be 33 sports and 339 events. That’s a lot.
However, I will do whatever I can to see as much as I possibly can, hopefully giving the readers back home a first-hand look at some of the iconic venues, including many that were also used the last time the city hosted the Olympics in 1964. There is a total of 42 venues, 24 which are already existing, 10 that are temporary and eight that are brand new. The challenge is daunting, but I'm ready for it.
That being said, I am interested in any possible local connections that might be at these Summer Games. As the Olympics get closer and qualifiers are held, I welcome any e-mails or phone calls regarding local connections.
For those interested, there is a gofundme page set up for donations to support the trip at https://www.gofundme.com/f/b4j4gq-tokyo-2020. I appreciate any donations.
Additionally, in the time leading up to the Summer Olympics, I will periodically update this blog and when I (hopefully) make it to Tokyo next July, I will try to update the blog every day, as I did throughout the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018.
I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with everyone.
This was the first Olympic flame I witnessed in person in Sochi, Russia 2014. The hope is that the first Summer Olympics flame I witness will be in Tokyo a year from now.
