The 20th Asian Games return to Japan for the first time in 32 years, with Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya hosting the continent's biggest multi-sport event from 19 September to 4 October 2026, though competition actually begins nine days earlier on 10 September with the football preliminaries. Recognised as the second-largest sporting event in the world behind only the Summer Olympics, the Asian Games brings together around 45 National Olympic Committees and 15,000 athletes every four years under the Olympic Council of Asia, and this is only the third time Japan has hosted it, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.
GOAL has everything you need to plan your trip to Japan, including the full sport-by-sport schedule, where tickets are being sold, the current price range, and how to grab the cheapest seats before they disappear.
When are the Asian Games 2026?
Date & Time | Sport | Location | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
Sep 10 - Oct 4 | Football | Toyota Stadium, Ecopa, Nagai Stadium and other venues, Japan | |
Sep 18 - Sep 25 | Basketball | Aichi International Arena, Nagoya | |
Sep 19 | Opening Ceremony | Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya | |
Sep 19 - Sep 21 | Cycling (Road) | Shinshiro City circuit, Shinshiro | |
Sep 19 | Modern Pentathlon | Anjo Sports Park, Anjo | |
Sep 20 - Sep 21 | Triathlon | Gamagori City Triathlon Venue, Gamagori | |
Sep 20 - Sep 23 | Soft Tennis | Higashiyama Park Tennis Center, Nagoya | |
Sep 20 - Sep 23 | Karate (Kata and Kumite) | Toyohashi Gymnasium, Toyohashi | |
Sep 20 - Sep 23 | Wushu (Taolu) | Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall, Nagoya | |
Sep 20 - Sep 24 | Artistic Gymnastics | Nagoya City General Gymnasium (Rainbow Hall), Nagoya | |
Sep 20 - Sep 25 | Swimming | Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Tokyo | |
Sep 20 - Sep 27 | Athletics (Track and Field, Marathon, Race Walk) | Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, Nagoya | |
Sep 20 - Sep 27 | Fencing | Aichi Sky Expo, Tokoname | |
Sep 20 - Sep 29 | Badminton | Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, Ichinomiya | |
Sep 20 - Sep 29 | Shooting | Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery, Toyota | |
Sep 20 - Oct 3 | Water Polo | Nippon Gaishi Hall (Rainbow Pool), Nagoya | |
Sep 20 | Mixed Martial Arts | Nagoya City Inae Sports Center, Nagoya | |
Sep 20 - Oct 3 | Cricket (T20) | Korogi Athletic Park, Nagoya | |
Sep 21 - Oct 3 | Volleyball | Okazaki and Park Arena Komaki, Aichi | |
Sep 22 - Sep 23 | Rowing | Nagaragawa International Regatta Course, Gifu | |
Sep 22 - Sep 24 | Table Tennis | SKY HALL Toyota, Toyota | |
Sep 22 - Sep 24 | Canoe/Kayak (Sprint) | Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course, Miyoshi | |
Sep 22 | Equestrian (Eventing) | Tokyo Equestrian Park, Tokyo | |
Sep 22 - Sep 28 | Weightlifting | Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center, Nagoya | |
Sep 22 - Oct 2 | Sepaktakraw | Nagoya City Mizuho Park Gymnasium, Nagoya | |
Sep 23 | 3x3 Basketball | Kinjo Futo Station Square Venue, Nagoya | |
Sep 23 - Sep 24 | Mountain Bike | Obata Ryokuchi Park, Nagoya | |
Sep 23 - Oct 2 | Esports | Aichi Sky Expo, Tokoname | |
Sep 24 | Wushu (Sanda) | Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall, Nagoya | |
Sep 24 - Sep 25 | Skateboarding | Aichi Sky Expo, Tokoname | |
Sep 25 - Sep 29 | Surfing | Pacific Long Beach, Tahara | |
Sep 26 - Sep 27 | Artistic Swimming | ToBiO Hamamatsu Swimming Center, Shizuoka | |
Sep 26 - Sep 28 | Kurash | Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall, Nagoya | |
Sep 26 - Sep 29 | Diving | Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Tokyo | |
Sep 26 - Oct 1 | Squash | Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena, Nagoya | |
Sep 26 - Oct 3 | Sailing | Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor, Aichi | |
Sep 27 | BMX Racing and Freestyle | Nagoya Velodrome BMX Race Course, Nagoya | |
Sep 27 - Sep 29 | Handball | Kasugai City Gymnasium, Kasugai | |
Sep 28 | Trampoline Gymnastics | Nagoya City General Gymnasium (Rainbow Hall), Nagoya | |
Sep 28 - Oct 1 | Cycling (Track) | Izu Velodrome, Shizuoka | |
Sep 28 - Oct 2 | Canoe/Kayak (Slalom) | Yahagigawa Canoe Slalom Course, Aichi | |
Sep 29 | Taekwondo (Poomsae) | Toyohashi Gymnasium, Toyohashi | |
Sep 29-30 | Archery (Compound) | Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park, Okazaki | |
Sep 29 - Oct 1 | Wrestling (Greco-Roman) | Nagoya City Inae Sports Center, Nagoya | |
Sep 29 - Oct 2 | Wrestling (Freestyle) | Nagoya City Inae Sports Center, Nagoya | |
Sep 29 - Oct 2 | Sport Climbing | Nagoya International Exhibition Hall, Nagoya | |
Sep 29 - Oct 3 | Judo | Aichi International Arena, Nagoya | |
Oct 1 - Oct 3 | Beach Volleyball | Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court, Hekinan | |
Oct 1 - Oct 3 | Jiu Jitsu | Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall, Nagoya | |
Oct 2 | Rugby Sevens (start) | Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field, Nagoya | |
Oct 2 | Virtual Taekwondo | Toyohashi City General Gymnasium, Toyohashi | |
Oct 2 - Oct 3 | Rhythmic Gymnastics | Nagoya City General Gymnasium (Rainbow Hall), Nagoya | |
Oct 3 | Breaking | Aichi Sky Expo, Tokoname | |
Oct 3 - Oct 4 | Archery (Recurve) | Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park, Okazaki | |
Oct 3 - Oct 4 | Taekwondo (Kyorugi) | Toyohashi Gymnasium, Toyohashi | |
Oct 3 - Oct 4 | Softball | Anjo Softball Ground, Anjo | |
Oct 4 | Golf | Kasugai Country Club East Course, Kasugai | |
Oct 4 | Closing Ceremony | Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya |
Where to buy Asian Games 2026 tickets?
The simplest way to buy Asian Games 2026 tickets from outside Japan is through Ticombo, which carries listings across the vast majority of sports on the programme, including sold-out or high demand sessions such as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, football, basketball and judo, with every purchase backed by the platform's guarantee.
Why Ticombo is worth checking:
- Confirmed seats for sessions that are already showing limited or no availability through the official channel, particularly for marquee events.
- A straightforward checkout in euros, which is often simpler for overseas fans than navigating a Japanese registration system.
- Coverage across nearly all 43 sports, from headline draws like swimming and athletics to niche disciplines such as kabaddi and sepaktakraw.
Fans who want face value pricing should also register for a free Supporter ID on the official Aichi-Nagoya 2026 ticket site, since this is where the cheapest tickets are sold directly by the organising committee. Japanese language agencies including Ticket Pia, TBS Tickets and CBC Ticket Center offer an alternative route if the official English site is busy. Once official allocations for a popular session sell out, or for fans who missed the sales windows, Ticombo is the place to turn.
How much are Asian Games 2026 tickets?
Ticket prices vary enormously depending on the sport, seat category, and how close to the Games it is:
- Cheapest official tickets: general admission for most sports starts from around 1,500 yen, with Zone C seats for most disciplines priced under 3,500 yen through the official ticket site.
- Resale marketplace: Ticombolistings for in-demand sessions currently start from around 270 euros, roughly 46,000 yen, for confirmed seats at sports such as wrestling and squash.
- Ceremonies and finals: Opening and Closing Ceremony tickets on the resale market are considerably higher, often running past 1,000 euros, well over 170,000 yen, for the best remaining seats.
Presale and general sale
Ticket sales ran in three stages. The first, an advance sale restricted to residents of the host prefectures, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Shizuoka, Tokyo and Osaka, ran from 26 February to 9 March 2026. A second priority sale opened to buyers worldwide from 12 March to 31 March 2026, though tickets for athletics, water polo, esports and sailing were not yet included at that stage. General sale then opened to everyone, with no regional restrictions, on 30 June 2026 at 5 pm Japan time, and sales continue first come first served until each session date while seats remain. Ticket limits apply, with a maximum of 12 tickets per account per transaction for most sessions, reduced to 6 for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Everything you need to know about the Asian Games
First held in New Delhi in 1951, the Asian Games is a continental multi-sport event staged every four years by the Olympic Council of Asia, and it ranks as the second biggest event of its kind in the world after the Summer Olympics. Aichi-Nagoya 2026 is the 20th edition, and Japan's third time hosting after Tokyo staged the Games in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994, a gap of more than three decades.
This edition brings a record-breaking programme of 43 sports and 70 disciplines, spread across 53 venues in Aichi Prefecture and beyond, with several events using facilities built for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for swimming and diving and the Izu Velodrome for track cycling. Six sports make their Asian Games debut in Nagoya: surfing, breaking, mixed martial arts, padel, teqball and virtual taekwondo, alongside the return of cricket in T20 format for the first time since Hangzhou 2023, with the tournament doubling as an Asian qualifying event for cricket's return to the Olympic programme at LA 2028.
Unusually for a Games of this scale, organisers have chosen not to build a traditional athletes' village. Instead, competitors will stay in local hotels, temporary container-style housing at the Port of Nagoya, and aboard a cruise ship docked at Kinjo Pier that can house several thousand athletes and officials. A free public fan zone at Hisaya Odori Park in central Nagoya will run throughout the Games, alongside a torch relay that passes through all of Aichi's municipalities from 22 August.
Everything you need to know about the Paloma Mizuho Stadium
The Paloma Mizuho Stadium, part of the Nagoya City Mizuho Park sports complex, is the centrepiece venue of Aichi-Nagoya 2026, hosting both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies along with the athletics programme across late September. With a capacity of around 35,000, it sits within a wider sporting precinct that also includes the Mizuho Park Rugby Field and Gymnasium, meaning several sports are within easy walking distance of one another on the busiest days of the schedule.
The stadium is accessible via the Nagoya Municipal Subway, with Mizuho Undojo-Higashi and Mizuho Undojo-Nishi stations both serving the park directly, making it one of the easier venues to reach without a car. Seating spans everything from affordable upper tier general admission through to premium categories, giving fans on any budget a way to watch the ceremonies or the athletics finals live.
With Japan hosting its biggest sporting event in over three decades, and stars from across the continent set to pass through Nagoya between September and October, demand for the standout sessions is expected to climb fast as the Games approach. GOAL recommends checking ticket availability on Ticombo now to avoid missing out on a session.