Japan is home to some of the most impressive football stadiums in the world. In this article, we will have a look at the venues that will host the J league 1 for the 2023 season.
Japan J1 League 2023 stadiums
The Denka Big Swan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the city of Niigata. It is the home ground of J1 League club Albirex Niigata and was one of the 20 stadia used in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosting three games. It opened in April 29, 2001, and can accommodate 42,300 people.
The Best Denki Stadium is located in the city of Fukuoka and is the home of the local football club Avispa Fukuoka. This is Fukuoka City’s first football-specific stadium and was constructed in 1995 with a seating capacity of 21,562 people. The stadium is very often used for rugby union matches.
Nissan Stadium, also known as International Stadium Yokohama is a multi-purpose stadium in Yokohama. It opened its gates in March 1998 and it is the home stadium of the current champions of the J1 League, Yokohama Marinos. The stadium hosted, among other games, the final game between Germany and Brazil in the 2002 FIFA world cup. It is the biggest stadium in the league with a seating capacity of 72,327 people.
The NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Yokohama. It serves as the home of the second football team of the city of Yokohama, Yokohama FC. It opened in 1955 and after facing two expansions the stadium can now hold 15,454 spectators.
The Noevir Stadium also known as Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium, is a football stadium in the city of Kobe. The stadium has a capacity of 30,132 and is one of the few football venues in the world that features a retractable roof. It is the home ground of Vissel Kobe. The stadium opened in 2001 and hosted three matches of the 2002 World cup.
The EDION Stadium Hiroshima is a multi-purpose stadium located in the city of Hiroshima. The venue is the home of J1 League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. It opened in September 1992 and has a capacity of 36,894 people.
The Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka is a multi-purpose stadium located in the city of Hiratsuka. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Shonan Bellmare. It opened in 1987 and with a capacity of 15,380 spectators, it is one of the smallest stadiums in J1 League.
The Saitama Stadium 2002, often called Saitama Stadium, is a football stadium located in Saitama. It opened just before the start of the 2002 world cup where it hosted one of the two semifinals. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan and is one of the largest venues in Asia. Currently, it is the home of J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds.
The Yodoko Sakura Stadium is a football-specific stadium located in the city of Osaka. It opened in April 1987 and after the 2021 renovation, the stadium can host 25,000 spectators. It was the home stadium for Cerezo Osaka from 2010 to 2018. Since 2021 Cerezo Osaka has started to use again the stadium for their home games.
Sapporo Dome is a stadium located in the city of Sapporo and it serves as the home field of the local football club Consadole Sapporo. It opened in 2001 with a capacity of 41,484 seats and it was the first stadium in the world that had both a retractable grass field and a fixed roof. The stadium hosted three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Ajinomoto Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tokyo. It opened on 10 March 2001 and can accommodate 49,970 people. The stadium is the home of J1 League football club FC Tokyo and J2 League football club Tokyo Verdy.
Ekimae Real Estate Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Tosu. Since its construction in 1996, it serves as the home ground of the local football club Sagan Tosu. The stadium has a capacity of 24,130 people.
Toyota Stadium is a football-specific stadium located in the city of Toyota. It was built in 2001 and is mostly used as home to the J1 League club Nagoya Grampus. The stadium has a retractable roof and can host 45,000 people.
The Panasonic Stadium Suita is a football stadium located in the city of Suita. It has a capacity of 39,694 people. The stadium opened its gates in 2015 and since then is used as the home of the J1 League football club Gamba Osaka.
Kashima Soccer Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Kashima. Currently is the home stadium of the Kashima Antlers. The stadium has a capacity of 40,728 and was built in 1993. Kashima Soccer Stadium hosted three group matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium is a football-specific stadium located in the city of Kashiwa. It serves as the home ground of the J1 League club Kashiwa Reysol. The stadium was built in 1985 and holds 15,349 people making it the smallest of the stadiums in the 2023 J1 League.
The Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, or officially Todoroki Athletics Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the city of Kawasaki. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Kawasaki Frontale. It was built in 1962 and after several expansions, the stadium can now hold 26,232 people.