Toyota Arena Tokyo – Alvark Tokyo

Photos by Sean MacDonald, Stadium Journey

Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 4

Tokota Arena Tokyo

1-3-1 Aomi, Koto-ku,

Tokyo, Japan

135-0064

Toyota Arena Tokyo

Alvark Tokyo website

Year Opened: 2025 Capacity: 10,000

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The Arena with the New Car Smell

When thinking about sports in Japan, baseball will always be top of the list, as the games are accessible and some players are well known, either because they used to play in MLB or are about to. Sumo and its traditions appeal to those with a deeper interest in the country, while soccer's J.League is gaining followers, helped by the Samurai Blue's success on the world stage.

But what most overseas fans don't realize is that there is a thriving basketball league in Japan, one with 55 teams across three divisions. Known as the B.League, most of its clubs play in smaller municipal gyms across their region, so doing stadium reviews is not very meaningful. Recently, however, a new arena opened in Tokyo as a more permanent home to a team there, and as Stadium Journey happened to be in town at the time, we decided to pay a visit.

Known as Toyota Arena Tokyo, it is the new home of Alvark Tokyo, a club that has been around since 1948. Located in the fashionable Odaiba area, it hosted its first game in October 2025 and has Alvark fans excited for the future. It might not be as thrilling as a new NBA arena, but it still has a lot to offer.

Food & Beverage 5

Unlike the gouging that occurs in North American venues, stadium food in Japan is reasonably priced and comes with the quality that you expect. The main concourse has many options, at least one of which should tempt even the pickiest fan.

One stand is called Fast Break and has an American Snack Bowl (chips and dip) or Mexican Snack Bowl (tortillas and salsa) for 600 yen (at the time of writing, $1 = ~150 yen, so 600 yen is about $4). They also have cups of Häagen-Dazs for the same price.

Another stand is Hatago Aomi, where rice balls are between 350 and 450 yen, while a cup of chanko nabe (a sumo staple) is 800 yen. Juicy fried chicken is a bargain at 650 yen, with a tuna and salmon rice bowl somewhat more expensive at 1,200 yen (again, just $8).

Meal Mates offers a Kansai-style beef bowl for 1,500 yen, the same price as a Nagoya-style miso-katsu bowl. Chicken tenders are 700 yen here, and they even have fried shrimp for 750 yen. There are many other options, so get there early and walk around before choosing.

Soft drinks are Pepsi products and generally cost 400 yen, while draft beer starts at 900 yen ($6), with a special Alvark brand red brew (a beer dyed red) going for 1,200 yen and not recommended. There are also highballs for just 800 yen.

Atmosphere 4

The area surrounding the arena can be quite dark at night, but as you approach, its lights provide plenty of guidance. The building has been constructed on a small hill, so you have to go up some stairs to get to the main entrance, where you will also find the box office.

Fans line up to enter, which does take some time. I recommended heading to Miraie, the bar just next to the bottom of the staircase, where you can relax while the queue subsides, with beer going for 900 yen. There is a large screen that will show highlights of previous Alvark games.

Inside, the main concourse can be a little crowded. There is an upper concourse as well that is only for a certain portion of the upper bowl. Capacity is 10,000, and the team is selling very well early on, meaning that there are few empty seats for moving around. Seats are numbered sequentially from 1 to over 600, depending on the row.

Seat numbers are painted on the aisle floor next to each row, so it is quite easy to find your location.

All seats are black and padded and very comfortable, with drink holders as well. There are suites, but they are part of the lower level, so the upper level is relatively close to the floor.

Trash in Japan is highly organized, and you can see that in the number of receptacles around the concourse. They even have staff members there to help you, as it can be quite confusing if you don't live in Japan.

During the game, it can get quite loud, though repetitive, with constant calls of 'Defense' when the opposition has the ball. During the breaks, there are promotions and the like, but they are fairly easy to tune out. The center-hung scoreboard is rectangular and of extremely good quality for video replays.

The mascot is Rook, a giant red teddy bear, who cavorts along the baseline. Alvark, by the way, is another of those weird team names that dominate sports in Japan. It originates from the Arabic word 'albarq', meaning 'lightning'. Furthermore, 'AL' signifies 'The', 'V' stands for 'Victory', and 'ARK' is, well, 'ark'. Together, they symbolize "an ark that carries victory".

Neighborhood 5

Toyota Arena is in the Odaiba area, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. During the 1990s, the area was redeveloped into a major commercial, residential, and leisure area, and it is now a major tourist destination.

There are dozens of things to do here, from shopping malls to arcades to museums, movie theaters, and even beaches. Hundreds of restaurants can be found serving all types of food, while there are also several fancy hotels here, though I would recommend staying closer to the center of the city and spending the day in Odaiba.

Fans 4

I was amazed that nearly 10,000 fans were on hand for this game, as in previous visits to basketball in Japan, the crowd rarely exceeded 2,000. No doubt the attraction of the new arena contributed to the crowd, but everyone still knew enough about the game to cheer at the right time and contribute to the atmosphere. And as always, they were exceedingly polite and cleaned up after themselves, a welcome tradition when compared to the disgusting messes left at arenas in North America.

Access 4

The arena is located next to Aomi Station on the Yurikamome line, but there are a few other stations nearby, too. Use Google Maps or a local Japanese transit app to figure out the best way to get there from wherever you are staying. I can't imagine driving here and would strongly recommend you avoid doing so. There was a large and long lineup before the game, which I avoided by going to the bar as mentioned earlier. This is really the only issue with access to the venue.

Inside, the concourse seems a bit narrow, but there was no problem getting around, probably because most fans were already sitting in their seats before the game. Halftime did prove a bit tough to complete a full circuit of the concourse, but concession and restroom lines were mostly non-existent and moved quickly when present.

Return on Investment 4

The team employs dynamic pricing, and to complicate matters, there are 46 (yes, forty-six!) price points along with five game tiers depending on the day of the week and the opponent. That's 230 potential prices to enumerate, and obviously, I will not do so.

To buy tickets online, you need to create an account, which, as a tourist, is probably something you are not willing to bother with.h. Fortunately, the box office is open before the game and will sell you a hard ticket, explaining the location on a seating chart.

For the game I attended, the cheapest ticket was an astounding 10,400 yen, about $67.50. There were slightly cheaper options, but they had sold out in advance. However, for some upcoming games, tickets are as low as 3,000 yen, about $20, a reasonable price. Given the low price of food and the unique experience provided, this is still a worthwhile place to visit if you happen to be in Japan during the fall or winter.

Extras 2

Alvark is sponsored by Toyota (the team was originally called the Toyota Pacers before becoming Toyota Alvark in 2000, finally dropping the company name in 2016). There is a small corner with some uniforms and shoes on display, though these seemed to be for current players rather than past stars. Another point for impressive architecture, something that is slowly becoming the norm with new stadiums in Japan.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Toyota Arena is an impressive venue that has few problems despite having just opened. Traditionally, Japanese sports venues were purely functional, but this has been changing over the past. A couple of decades as, fan comfort and extra amenities were understood to be critical to the experience. If you are in Tokyo during the season, see if you can get to an Alvark game and add this new stadium to your list.