Taiiku / Supotsu no Hi

Taiiku no Hi (体育の日, "Physical Education Day"), renamed Supotsu no Hi (スポーツの日, "Sports Day") since 2020, is the public holiday dedicated to physical activity in Japan, held every year on the 2nd Monday of October. It aims to promote sports and physical activity in general in order to build a healthy society while cultivating respect for others.

Sports are part of daily life for Japanese people of all ages through the near-universal practice of rajio taiso, done at school, at home, or at work to start the day. It's a short morning gymnastics routine, traditionally broadcast on the radio (hence the name) and, more recently, on TV (on the national NHK channel, for example) or online.

Japan also regularly hosts international competitions, with recent examples including:

• The Rugby World Cup in 2019,
• The Tokyo Olympics in 2020 (postponed to 2021), and,
• The World Athletics Championships in 2025.

The Japanese are also huge baseball fans, and the faces of their star players, like Ichiro or Shohei Ohtani, can be seen on billboards all over the country.

Worth noting: Supotsu no Hi is the 1rst Japanese public holiday whose name is borrowed from English and written in the katakana syllabary.

Origins of Taiiku no Hi

The 1rst Sports Day, which wasn't a public holiday, was established in 1961 and took place on the 1rst Saturday of October. Then, in 1966, its date was moved to October 10 and it became an official holiday, commemorating the 1964 Summer Olympics 🏅 held in Tokyo from October 10 to 24. It was celebrated this way until 1999.

Starting in 2000, the new holiday law establishing the Happy Monday System (5 public holidays moved to Mondays each year) took effect and set the date of Taiiku no Hi as the 2nd Monday of October.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021, temporarily disrupted these dates: over those 2 years, Taiiku no Hi was celebrated on July 24, 2020, then on July 23, 2021. The dates of Umi no Hi (usually the 3rd Monday of July) and Yama no Hi (usually set on August 11) were also changed to align with the opening and closing of the Olympics, respectively.

Upcoming Dates for Supotsu no Hi

Supotsu no Hi (Taiiku no Hi) normally falls on the 2nd Monday of October each year:

• October 12, 2026;
• October 11, 2027;
• October 9, 2028;
• October 8, 2029;
• October 14, 2030;
• etc.

The Season of Undokai Sports Festivals

Supotsu no Hi is a fairly recent public holiday and hasn't yet built up any particular traditions.

"Sports festivals," known as undokai (運動会, also taiiku sai 体育祭), may be organized locally by municipalities on a weekend close to Sports Day. School sports festivals, made popular by anime and drama series, generally take place in October or in May-June, depending on the region, to take advantage of stable, milder weather. They aren't directly tied to Taiiku no Hi and were actually introduced in Japan at the beginning of the Meiji era.

These events are moments of family and school life centered on children, giving them a chance to show off athletic skills they've specifically trained for to their parents. Schools host a sort of mini-Olympics featuring events inspired by track and field and gymnastics, such as:

• Running races and sprints;
• Long jump;
• Human pyramids;
• Group jump rope.

Parents may also be invited to take part in a sack race or a 3-legged race.

Sports and Tourism in Japan in October

For tourists, October is a great time to catch the final games of the professional baseball season (mostly toward the end of the month) or watch a sumo training session in Tokyo's Ryogoku neighborhood, for example.

Japan is home to famous sports venues, including:

• Meiji Jingu Gaien, which brings together the National Stadium designed by Kengo Kuma for the 2020 Olympics, a historic baseball stadium, a rugby stadium, and the Japan Olympic Museum;
• Tokyo Dome, another mecca of baseball, home to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum;
• The Yoyogi National Gymnasium, designed by Kenzo Tange for the 1964 Olympics; and,
• The famous Koshien Stadium near Kobe, home turf of the Hanshin Tigers, whose fans are known for their enthusiasm.

The start of koyo 🍁 season (fall foliage) in early October is also the perfect time to visit Sapporo and Nagano and check out their museums dedicated to the Winter Olympics, which the 2 cities hosted in 1972 and 1998, respectively. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route generally puts on a beautiful display of fall colors during this season, especially on the Murodo plateau, its highest point.

Soccer fans can follow in the footsteps of the Captain Tsubasa pilgrimage or visit one of Paris Saint-Germain (Paris’ main football team)’s 3 official stores in Japan, in Kabukicho and Omotesando (the newest one in Tokyo), as well as in Nagoya.

Those who'd rather play sports themselves can join a sports event open to the public around this time of year. They can also try their hand at baseball in a batting center or golf at a golf center, indoors or outdoors, or head out for a hike in the mountains or through one of the archipelago's many nature parks.