[[File:Yoyogi national 2nd gymnasium 20090214.jpg|thumb|Interior of Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium]]
It was designed by [[Kenzo Tange]] and built between 1961 and 1964 to be the aquatics center during the [[1964 Summer Olympics]].The, with the annex was used for the [[Basketball at the 1964 Summer Olympics|basketball]] events those same games. It was also the venue of [[handball at the 2020 Summer Olympics|handball]] competitions at the [[2020 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Venue Plan |url=https://tokyo2020.jp/en/plan/venue/index.html |publisher=Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee |access-date=11 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727040849/https://tokyo2020.jp/en/plan/venue/index.html |archive-date=July 27, 2013 }}</ref> The design inspired [[Frei Otto]]'s arena designs for the [[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympic Stadium]] in [[Munich]].
The arena holds 13,291 people (9,079 stand seats, 4,124 arena seats and 88 "royal box" seats) and is now primarily used for [[ice hockey]], [[futsal]], [[basketball]] and [[volleyball]].{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
