Athletics Week at Paloma Mizuho Stadium: Group Transport Planning
Plan group transport for Asian Games athletics at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya, 23 to 29 Sept: sessions, marathon and race walk roads, Kanayama access.
Sep 5, 2026·✍️ olablog·⏱ 6 min read
Plan group transport for Asian Games athletics at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya, 23 to 29 Sept: sessions, marathon and race walk roads, Kanayama access.
Paloma Mizuho Stadium (Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium) in Mizuho-ku is the main stadium of the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. It hosts the opening ceremony on 19 September, athletics from 23 to 29 September including the marathon start and finish, and the closing ceremony on 4 October. For a group, athletics week is a different logistical animal from a single ceremony night: seven days, morning and evening sessions, and road events that close streets in other parts of the city.
If you are moving a group to Mizuho for several days, build one transport pattern and repeat it, rather than improvising each morning. This article sets that pattern out: how to think about morning and evening sessions, why Kanayama Station matters, what the marathon and race walk do to the roads, and how a coach fits alongside the trains.
Session times and gate times are not in this article on purpose. They come from the official schedule, which you should check the night before every session.
Athletics week at a glance
| Date | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sept | Opening ceremony, 18:00 to 20:00 | Paloma Mizuho Stadium |
| 23 to 29 Sept | Athletics: track and field | Paloma Mizuho Stadium |
| During athletics week | Marathon start and finish | Paloma Mizuho Stadium, route through city streets |
| During athletics week | Race walk | Loop course around Aichi Prefectural Government Office and Nagoya City Hall, Sannomaru area near Nagoya Castle |
| 4 Oct | Closing ceremony | Main stadium |
Exact days for the marathon and race walk within the week are on the official schedule; check them, because they decide which roads are affected on which morning.
Two kinds of athletics day
Stadium days. Your group goes to one place, Mizuho, sits for a session and leaves. Transport is a simple in-and-out.
Road-event days. The marathon starts and finishes at the stadium but runs through the city; the race walk loops around the prefectural office and city hall near the castle. Whether and where spectators may watch from the roadside is set out in the official schedule and spectator guidance, so check before promising the group a spot on a corner. For the coach, the issue is road closures: a route that worked on Tuesday may be closed on Thursday morning. Ask the operator to confirm the route and drop-off the evening before any road-event day.
Morning or evening session: the transport differs
Morning sessions favour the coach. The group leaves the hotel together at a fixed time, arrives together, and there is no last-train question. The cost is an early lobby call.
Evening sessions favour a hybrid. Trains into Mizuho in the late afternoon are manageable; Kanayama Station, a hub for Meitetsu, JR and the Meijo and Meiko subway lines, is close to the Mizuho area. The return is where the coach earns its money: after an evening session, trains run but crowds are heavy, last trains are around midnight, and a group of 40 on a platform is a group of 40 you will count three times. A pre-booked coach at an agreed point removes that.
If your group attends both a morning and an evening session on the same day, book the coach for the day and decide what happens in the gap: an excursion (Atsuta Jingu shrine is in the south of the city; the Osu shopping arcade and Sakae are central), or release and recall.
Getting to Mizuho: the coach and Kanayama
Organisers ask spectators to use public transport, and shuttle buses, accessible shuttles, park-and-bus-ride and limited parking exist only at certain venues. A private coach needs a pre-arranged drop-off, which your operator arranges, but nobody can promise a specific bay at Paloma Mizuho Stadium. Plan for a drop-off and a walk; if the coach cannot park at the venue, the group walks, so choose the drop-off point with that in mind.
For the train option, Kanayama is the reference hub. A hotel near Kanayama or Nagoya Station gives the group a fallback if the coach is delayed by closures, which during athletics week is a real possibility.
A coach pattern for a repeat week
Repeating the same plan for several days reduces mistakes. A suggested pattern:
- Same lobby time relative to gate time every day (for example, gate time minus 90 minutes; adjust for your hotel's distance).
- Same drop-off point unless the operator reports a closure.
- Same pickup point, photographed and pinned in the group chat on day one.
- A named deputy who counts heads at boarding, so the leader is free to deal with the driver.
- A water and rain-gear check at the door. Late September is 20 to 30 °C, humid, and still typhoon season.
- A standing fallback: if the coach cannot reach the pickup point, the group walks to Kanayama Station and takes the train.
Vehicle choice for a week of sessions
For a week-long booking, ask about a single vehicle and driver across the dates; continuity helps because the driver learns the closures and the pickup point. OlaChill's charter fleet includes a 7-seat Alphard, a 17 to 22-seat minibus, a 26 to 29-seat Coaster and a 44 to 53-seat coach. The one published reference is a 12-hour 45 to 50-seat coach from Nagoya at roughly ¥120,000 to ¥220,000 per day, estimate only; a week is quoted as a package on request. Pricing depends on hours, distance, tolls, parking and driver meals and accommodation.
How to book with OlaChill
Send your session dates and gate times, headcount, hotel address and whether you want the coach for full days or returns only, and OlaChill replies within 24 hours with a quote for a charter coach with a professional Japanese driver. For members arriving mid-week at Centrair, note that Centrair is not on the fixed-price airport transfer list, so those pickups are quoted through the same charter form.
FAQ
Which days are the marathon and race walk?
They fall within athletics week, 23 to 29 September, but the exact days are on the official schedule. Check it, because road closures on those mornings affect coach routes.
Where is the race walk?
On a loop course around the Aichi Prefectural Government Office and Nagoya City Hall in the Sannomaru area near Nagoya Castle, not at the stadium.
Can we watch the marathon from the roadside?
Check the official schedule and spectator guidance for the course. Do not assume roadside viewing is open everywhere.
Is it worth booking the coach for the whole week?
If you have sessions most days and a hotel outside the centre, usually yes, because the repeat pattern saves time and mistakes. If you have two sessions in the week, book those days only.
What is the closest station for the stadium?
Kanayama Station is the hub closest to the Mizuho area and connects Meitetsu, JR and the Meijo and Meiko subway lines. Check the official venue page for the exact walking route from the nearest station.
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