Tokyo Dome
Encyclopedia
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat (actual capacity of 42,000) baseball stadium
located in Bunkyo Ward
of Tokyo, Japan.
The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium
. Like Kōrakuen, the Dome hosts the Toei Superheroes
live shows of the year.
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 held up by slightly pressurizing the inside of the stadium.
It is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants
baseball
team, and has also hosted basketball
, American football
and association football games, as well as puroresu (pro-wrestling) matches, mixed martial arts
events, kickboxing
events, monster truck
races, and music concerts. It is also the location of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
which chronicles the history of baseball in Japan.
, built of the grounds of the former Tokyo Koishikawa arsenal
. Tokyo Dome City includes an amusement park
and Tokyo Dome City Attractions (formerly Kōrakuen Grounds). 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.
and an International Military Marching Band pageant, with bands from Australia, England, USA, Poland, Germany, China, Japan and others on March 19, 1988.
performed three Tokyo Dome shows in 1996, which became the fastest sellouts in the stadiums history, when all 150,000 tickets sold out in less than 3 hours. In 1998 Carey broke her own record selling 200,000 tickets in under 1 hour.
's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on September 27, 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel
and also featured Bruce Springsteen
& The E Street Band
, Tracy Chapman
and Youssou N'Dour
.
The American megastar Michael Jackson
performed on stage more than any other artist or band, a total of 21 concerts. The first nine of them, all sold out, there were days in December 9-11, 17-19 and 24-26, 1988, during his Bad World Tour
. Four years later, Jackson returned to perform at Tokyo Dome, this time as part of his Dangerous World Tour
, in eight sold out concerts, in days December 12, 14, 17, 19, 22, 24 and 30-31, 1992. His last four concerts took place in 1996, on December 12, 15, 17 and 20 of that year, during Michael's HIStory World Tour
. It is believed that a total of more than 1 million people have seen these 21 concerts, more than any other artist in country's history.
Heavy metal band X Japan
has performed at the Tokyo Dome many times, several of which have been released on home video including: their last concert with former bassist Taiji on January 7, 1992 (On the Verge of Destruction 1992.1.7 Tokyo Dome Live) and their last concert before disbanding on December 31, 1997 (The Last Live Video
). The arena also hosted their first concerts after reuniting in 2007; May 28-30, 2008.
In February 1992, Guns N' Roses
played three sold out shows at the arena during their Use Your Illusion Tour
, one of which was released as a 2-part DVD. Nearly 18 years later, with their new line-up, on December 19, 2009, during their Chinese Democracy Tour
, they played their longest show in their career, at 3 hours and 37 minutes and longest concert held at the arena.
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.
The pop star Gackt
's Christmas Eve show on December 24, 2005, holds the record as the most expensive and one of the costliest in Japanese concert history. The concert was estimated by his business partners to have cost ¥500 million (or about $4,296,270), he and his other performers took two years to plan and six months to rehearse. Starting with an entrance on horseback at full gallop, performances featured twenty dancers, during the performance of "Lust for Blood" he came out of the coffin, the song "Jūnigatsu no Love Song
" included an orchestra of 30 musicians, as well as Gackt singing suspended 20m in the air.
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 average age 15.2 years old.
Rock band Luna Sea
held a one night reunion concert titled "God Bless You ~One Night Dejavu~" on December 24, 2007. It was their first performance together after they "dropped the curtain" in 2000. The show was broadcast live on NHK
BS Hi-vision Satellite and was released on DVD a year later.
In August 2008, KAT-TUN
broke the record for the longest consecutive days of concerts, when they performed at the stadium for four days in a row. Less than a year later, they broke their own record with concerts eight days in a row from May 15, 2009, as they sold all tickets immediately.
On July 2009, Korean boyband TVXQ
/JYJ
make their first performance on Tokyo Dome after debut for 5 years long in Japan music industry. The group held their last stop for 4th Japan Live Tour at Tokyo Dome for 2 days starting July 4 and 5, making them the first ever Korean group and the second Korean artist to perform here. The ticket concerts were sold out, attracting 55,000 fans on the first day and 50,000 fans on the second day.
On November 3, 2010, Perfume
became the second techno-pop unit (after Yellow Magic Orchestra) and second female idol unit (after Speed
) to perform at the Dome with their 10th anniversary show titled "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11". The show sold out within hours of tickets going on sale.
On 5th-6th December 2010, Japanese singer Koda Kumi's "Koda Kumi 10th Anniversary ～Fantasia～" concerts were held in Tokyo Dome to celebrate her debut 10th anniversary. The two nights were almost sold out. It was the second time the notable singer held her concert in Tokyo Dome since 2007, when she first came with her "Black Cherry Tour", which was sold out within a very short time since tickets were released.
Also 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 (sold out) 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.
game known as the Coca-Cola Bowl
from 1988 to 1993; perhaps the most famous of these games saw Houston Cougars
quarterback
David Klingler
pass for a record 716 yards to lead the 11th-ranked Cougars to a 62-45 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils
on December 1, 1990.
Tokyo Dome has hosted the two-day X-Trail Jam snowboarding competition seven times since February 2001.
The Chicago Cubs
and the New York Mets
played a pair of games here to open the 2000 season
, the first time American Major League Baseball
teams have played regular season games in Asia. The New York Yankees
and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played two games there in March of 2004
to open that season. The Boston Red Sox
and the Oakland Athletics
opened the 2008 MLB season in Japan as well. These teams also competed against Japanese teams. The Boston Red Sox
beat the Oakland Athletics
6–5 in extra innings in the first game.
In October 2003, the (then) Seattle Super Sonics beat the L.A. Clippers in the first pre season exhibition game of the NBA 2003-2004 season.
In August 2005, the Atlanta Falcons
beat the Indianapolis Colts
27–20 in the first NFL
preseason game of the year in the stadium.
The Tokyo Dome has hosted several championship prize fights, including the heavyweight
boxing
championship fight on February 11, 1990, where Mike Tyson
suffers his first professional defeat by losing the title to 42–1 shot James "Buster" Douglas by a tenth-round knockout.
In 1997, mixed martial arts
organization PRIDE Fighting Championships held its first event
in the dome and attracted 47,000 fans.
Before the team moved to Hokkaido in 2004, the Nippon Ham Fighters also used Tokyo Dome as home ground, and continued to use the dome for several regular season games every season, including inter-league games.
New Japan Pro Wrestling
holds an annual Tokyo Dome event on January 4
, attracting record crowds. It is the most anticipated pro wrestling ("puroresu") event of the year.
The Seattle Mariners
and the Oakland Athletics
are scheduled to play a two game series at the Tokyo Dome to open the 2012 Major League Baseball season
on March 28 and 29.
Under the ground rules
set up by the dome, any ball that which hits or is trapped by the hanging items in outfield area's roof will be ruled as home runs. Hitting any other part of the roof will be considered as in-play. In addition, prize money will be given out if any home run hits the advertisement boards in the scoreboard.
Gorillaz
makes a reference to the Tokyo Dome, saying: "Gorillaz rock the dome just like the one in Tokyo."
A scene in the Ben Mezrich
book Ugly Americans involves a football game between Ivy League
and Japanese all-star teams.
In episode 17 of the anime Baki the Grappler
, it is revealed that the underground fighting arena for the world's strongest man is on an underground floor of the Tokyo Dome.
The dome can actually be seen in NEWS
member, Keiichiro Koyama
's music video for his solo song, "Love Addiction".
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in Bunkyo Ward
Bunkyo, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there...
of Tokyo, Japan.
The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium
Korakuen Stadium
was a stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 1937, it was primarily used for baseball and was home to the Yomiuri Giants until 1988 when they moved next door, to the Tokyo Dome, which sits on the site of the Velodrome. The ballpark had a capacity of 50,000 people. In 1942 Korakuen Stadium played...
. Like Kōrakuen, the Dome hosts the Toei Superheroes
Toei Superheroes
Toei Superheroes are superhero shows produced by Toei Company Ltd., which has done the biggest number of live-action tokusatsu superhero shows in Japan...
live shows of the year.
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
Air-supported structure
An air-supported structure is any building that derives its structural integrity from the use of internal pressurized air to inflate a pliable material envelope, so that air is the main support of the structure, and where access is via airlocks.The concept was popularized on a large scale by...
, a flexible membrane held up by slightly pressurizing the inside of the stadium.
It is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team, and has also hosted basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and association football games, as well as puroresu (pro-wrestling) matches, mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
events, kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
events, monster truck
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
races, and music concerts. It is also the location of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum which includes a library, reference rooms and Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame ....
which chronicles the history of baseball in Japan.
Tokyo Dome City
Tokyo Dome is part of a greater entertainment complex known as Tokyo Dome CityTokyo Dome City
Tokyo Dome City is an entertainment complex in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan.It includes the world's largest roofed baseball stadium known as Tokyo Dome , an amusement park known as Tokyo Dome City Attractions , and Korakuen Hall...
, built of the grounds of the former Tokyo Koishikawa arsenal
Koishikawa arsenal
The , formally was an arsenal in the Koishikawa area of Tokyo, on the grounds of today's Tokyo Dome City and the Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden. It was located on the ground of the former residence of the Prince of Mito....
. Tokyo Dome City includes an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
and Tokyo Dome City Attractions (formerly Kōrakuen Grounds). This amusement park occupies the former Korakuen Stadium site and includes a roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
named Thunder Dolphin
Thunder Dolphin
Thunder Dolphin is a steel roller coaster at the Tokyo Dome City Attractions amusement park, which is part of Tokyo Dome City in Tokyo, Japan. The ride was designed and constructed by Intamin...
and a hubless Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
. The grounds also have an onsen
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
called Spa LaQua, various shops, restaurants, video game centers, the largest JRA
Japan Racing Association
The Japan Racing Association is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training facilities....
WINS horse race betting complex in Tokyo, and Oft Korakuen, which caters to rural horse races.
Events
Tokyo Dome is the largest concert hall in Japan. The first live performance inside the Tokyo Dome was by The AlfeeThe Alfee
The Alfee is a popular Japanese musical group composed of Masaru Sakurai , Kōnosuke Sakazaki and Toshihiko Takamizawa...
and an International Military Marching Band pageant, with bands from Australia, England, USA, Poland, Germany, China, Japan and others on March 19, 1988.
Stadium records
Mariah CareyMariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
performed three Tokyo Dome shows in 1996, which became the fastest sellouts in the stadiums history, when all 150,000 tickets sold out in less than 3 hours. In 1998 Carey broke her own record selling 200,000 tickets in under 1 hour.
Notable performances
The stadium played host to Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on September 27, 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and also featured Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
& The E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
, Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
and Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
.
The American megastar Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
performed on stage more than any other artist or band, a total of 21 concerts. The first nine of them, all sold out, there were days in December 9-11, 17-19 and 24-26, 1988, during his Bad World Tour
Bad World Tour
The Bad World Tour was the first solo concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson that visited Japan, Australia, the United States and Europe. Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries...
. Four years later, Jackson returned to perform at Tokyo Dome, this time as part of his Dangerous World Tour
Dangerous World Tour
The Dangerous World Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson. The tour, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, included 69 performances to an audience of 3.5 million. All profits were donated to various charities including Jackson's own "Heal the World Foundation". The...
, in eight sold out concerts, in days December 12, 14, 17, 19, 22, 24 and 30-31, 1992. His last four concerts took place in 1996, on December 12, 15, 17 and 20 of that year, during Michael's HIStory World Tour
HIStory World Tour
The HIStory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts and was attended by approximately 4.5 million fans, beating his previous Bad Tour...
. It is believed that a total of more than 1 million people have seen these 21 concerts, more than any other artist in country's history.
Heavy metal band X Japan
X Japan
is a Japanese heavy metal band founded in 1982 by Yoshiki and Toshi. Originally named X , the group achieved their breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood...
has performed at the Tokyo Dome many times, several of which have been released on home video including: their last concert with former bassist Taiji on January 7, 1992 (On the Verge of Destruction 1992.1.7 Tokyo Dome Live) and their last concert before disbanding on December 31, 1997 (The Last Live Video
The Last Live Video
The Last Live Video is a live DVD/VHS released by X Japan on March 29, 2002. It contains the band's last concert performance, before their reunion in 2007, recorded at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997...
). The arena also hosted their first concerts after reuniting in 2007; May 28-30, 2008.
In February 1992, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
played three sold out shows at the arena during their Use Your Illusion Tour
Use Your Illusion Tour
The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Guns N' Roses which ran from January 20, 1991 to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 194 shows in 27 countries...
, one of which was released as a 2-part DVD. Nearly 18 years later, with their new line-up, on December 19, 2009, during their Chinese Democracy Tour
Chinese Democracy Tour
The Chinese Democracy Tour is a current worldwide concert tour by hard rock band Guns N' Roses to promote the group's long-delayed album Chinese Democracy....
, they played their longest show in their career, at 3 hours and 37 minutes and longest concert held at the arena.
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Sakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band...
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.
The pop star Gackt
Gackt
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....
's Christmas Eve show on December 24, 2005, holds the record as the most expensive and one of the costliest in Japanese concert history. The concert was estimated by his business partners to have cost ¥500 million (or about $4,296,270), he and his other performers took two years to plan and six months to rehearse. Starting with an entrance on horseback at full gallop, performances featured twenty dancers, during the performance of "Lust for Blood" he came out of the coffin, the song "Jūnigatsu no Love Song
Jūnigatsu no Love Song
was first released on December 16, 2001 as a Christmas single and reached a rank of 5 in the Oricon charts. From 2001 to 2004, the single was recorded in four different languages: Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean and released before Christmas. In 2005, a re-recorded version of the Korean song...
" included an orchestra of 30 musicians, as well as Gackt singing suspended 20m in the air.
On July 22, 2007, Kinki Kids
KinKi Kids
is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name....
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
Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music.As a musician, he has sold more than 20 million records worldwide, and has appeared in various movies and television dramas...
in 1992 when his concert drew an audience of 65,000.
On December 22, 2007, Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP is a ten-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The name Hey! Say! refers to the fact that all the members were born in the Heisei period and JUMP is an acronym for Johnny's Ultra Music Power...
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 average age 15.2 years old.
Rock band Luna Sea
Luna Sea
Luna Sea is a rock band from Kanagawa, Japan, formed in 1989. The band was initially founded by bassist J and rhythm guitarist Inoran, when they were in high school. They soon recruited lead guitarist and violinist Sugizo, drummer Shinya and vocalist Ryuichi, a lineup that has remained the same...
held a one night reunion concert titled "God Bless You ~One Night Dejavu~" on December 24, 2007. It was their first performance together after they "dropped the curtain" in 2000. The show was broadcast live on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
BS Hi-vision Satellite and was released on DVD a year later.
In August 2008, KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 2001. The group's name is an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name until the departure of Jin Akanishi in 2010. As of 2010, KAT-TUN stands for Kazuya KAmenashi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda,...
broke the record for the longest consecutive days of concerts, when they performed at the stadium for four days in a row. Less than a year later, they broke their own record with concerts eight days in a row from May 15, 2009, as they sold all tickets immediately.
On July 2009, Korean boyband TVXQ
TVXQ
TVXQ, an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi , is a South Korean pop group formed in 2003 under SM Entertainment. In South Korea they are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki , often abbreviated by international fans as DBSK; they were later introduced in Japan as Tohoshinki under the Avex sub-label Rhythm Zone...
/JYJ
JYJ
JYJ is a three-member pop group, formed by three members of the South Korean boyband TVXQ: Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu. Their group name is taken from the first letters of each members' names....
make their first performance on Tokyo Dome after debut for 5 years long in Japan music industry. The group held their last stop for 4th Japan Live Tour at Tokyo Dome for 2 days starting July 4 and 5, making them the first ever Korean group and the second Korean artist to perform here. The ticket concerts were sold out, attracting 55,000 fans on the first day and 50,000 fans on the second day.
On November 3, 2010, Perfume
Perfume (group)
Perfume is a Japanese all-girl trio from Hiroshima, Japan, consisting of Ayano Ōmoto, Yuka Kashino, and Ayaka Nishiwaki. They debuted locally in 2001 and made their transition to a major label in 2005, focusing more on electropop...
became the second techno-pop unit (after Yellow Magic Orchestra) and second female idol unit (after Speed
Speed (band)
Speed is an Okinawan female vocal/dance group comprising Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara and Hitoe Arakaki. All four members are former students of Okinawa Actors School which also trained popular artists Namie Amuro and MAX.Speed made their major label debut on August 5, 1996 and...
) to perform at the Dome with their 10th anniversary show titled "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11". The show sold out within hours of tickets going on sale.
On 5th-6th December 2010, Japanese singer Koda Kumi's "Koda Kumi 10th Anniversary ～Fantasia～" concerts were held in Tokyo Dome to celebrate her debut 10th anniversary. The two nights were almost sold out. It was the second time the notable singer held her concert in Tokyo Dome since 2007, when she first came with her "Black Cherry Tour", which was sold out within a very short time since tickets were released.
Also in December 2010, Luna Sea
Luna Sea
Luna Sea is a rock band from Kanagawa, Japan, formed in 1989. The band was initially founded by bassist J and rhythm guitarist Inoran, when they were in high school. They soon recruited lead guitarist and violinist Sugizo, drummer Shinya and vocalist Ryuichi, a lineup that has remained the same...
performed three consecutive days at the arena during their "20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon-
20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot
20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon- is a concert tour by Japanese rock band Luna Sea. The tour is the first set of regular concerts given by the band in ten years since their Final Act concerts in December 2000, following a one night reunion concert in 2007 and a performance at the...
" limited reunion world tour. The first two (sold out) 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.
Notable events
The Dome hosted an annual college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game known as the Coca-Cola Bowl
Mirage bowl
Mirage bowl may refer to:*Mirage Bowl, a series of annual college football games played in Tokyo, Japan, later renamed the Mirage Bowl *An optical illusion device using a parabolic reflector...
from 1988 to 1993; perhaps the most famous of these games saw Houston Cougars
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
David Klingler
David Klingler
David Ryan Klingler , is a former American football player. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals after a record setting quarterback career at the University of Houston...
pass for a record 716 yards to lead the 11th-ranked Cougars to a 62-45 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State Sun Devils football
The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....
on December 1, 1990.
Tokyo Dome has hosted the two-day X-Trail Jam snowboarding competition seven times since February 2001.
The Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
played a pair of games here to open the 2000 season
2000 Major League Baseball season
The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series. An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season...
, the first time American Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams have played regular season games in Asia. The New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played two games there in March of 2004
2004 Major League Baseball season
* Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *...
to open that season. The Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
opened the 2008 MLB season in Japan as well. These teams also competed against Japanese teams. The Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
beat the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
6–5 in extra innings in the first game.
In October 2003, the (then) Seattle Super Sonics beat the L.A. Clippers in the first pre season exhibition game of the NBA 2003-2004 season.
In August 2005, the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
beat the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
27–20 in the first NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
preseason game of the year in the stadium.
The Tokyo Dome has hosted several championship prize fights, including the heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
championship fight on February 11, 1990, where Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
suffers his first professional defeat by losing the title to 42–1 shot James "Buster" Douglas by a tenth-round knockout.
In 1997, mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
organization PRIDE Fighting Championships held its first event
PRIDE 1
Pride 1 was the first mixed martial arts event held by KRS-Pride . It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on October 11, 1997 and attracted a crowd of 47,860 spectators....
in the dome and attracted 47,000 fans.
Before the team moved to Hokkaido in 2004, the Nippon Ham Fighters also used Tokyo Dome as home ground, and continued to use the dome for several regular season games every season, including inter-league games.
New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
holds an annual Tokyo Dome event on January 4
January 4 Dome Show
The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling major show, some times broadcast as a Pay-Per-View , held by Japanese Professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling...
, attracting record crowds. It is the most anticipated pro wrestling ("puroresu") event of the year.
The Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
and the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
are scheduled to play a two game series at the Tokyo Dome to open the 2012 Major League Baseball season
2012 Major League Baseball season
The 2012 Major League Baseball season, will begin on March 28 with the first of a two game series between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome in Japan...
on March 28 and 29.
Under the ground rules
Ground rules (baseball)
In baseball, ground rules are special rules particular to each baseball park in which the game is played. Unlike the well-defined playing field of most other sports, the playing area of a baseball field extends to an outfield fence in fair territory and the stadium seating in foul territory...
set up by the dome, any ball that which hits or is trapped by the hanging items in outfield area's roof will be ruled as home runs. Hitting any other part of the roof will be considered as in-play. In addition, prize money will be given out if any home run hits the advertisement boards in the scoreboard.
In popular culture
In their song, "The Sounder", the virtual bandVirtual band
In music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
makes a reference to the Tokyo Dome, saying: "Gorillaz rock the dome just like the one in Tokyo."
A scene in the Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich is an American author from Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University in 1991. Some of his books have been written under the pseudonym Holden Scott. Mezrich attended Princeton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey...
book Ugly Americans involves a football game between Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
and Japanese all-star teams.
In episode 17 of the anime Baki the Grappler
Baki the Grappler
Grappler Baki , or Baki the Grappler, is a manga series written and illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki. It was originally serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Champion from 1991 to 1999, lasting 42 collected volumes...
, it is revealed that the underground fighting arena for the world's strongest man is on an underground floor of the Tokyo Dome.
The dome can actually be seen in NEWS
NeWS
NeWS was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid 1980s. Originally known as "SunDew", its primary authors were James Gosling and David S. H. Rosenthal...
member, Keiichiro Koyama
Keiichiro Koyama
is a Japanese musician and member of the Johnny's Entertainment group NEWS.-Biography:Koyama, born in Sagamihara, Kanagawa as the youngest of two children, is the oldest member of NEWS and is often seen as the mother figure of the group...
's music video for his solo song, "Love Addiction".
See also
- Thin-shell structureThin-shell structureThin-shell structures are light weight constructions using shell elements. These elements are typically curved and are assembled to large structures...
- List of thin shell structures
