October 28 will mark 1,000 days until the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. To mark the occasion and lift the Olympic mood, flags of the world are being displayed on the south-facing windows of Palaceside Building. Work began on the evening of the 23rd, after a typhoon had passed, and on the morning of the 24th the first 50 national flags appeared (photo above). Seen from below they look like this (photo at right): cloth flags 210 centimeters wide and 140 centimeters tall are tied to the outside of the windows.
This is one of The Mainichi Newspapers’ 1,000-day commemorative events, a project called “National Flag Decoration.” From the second through seventh floors, flags of all 206 IOC member countries and territories will be displayed, without a single omission.
The official display period runs from October 28 — the “1,000 days to go” date — through November 5. Night work will add more flags each day toward the 28th start.
In the atrium spanning the first floor and first basement of the building’s central concourse, an Olympic photo exhibition will also be held as another 1,000-day event. About 50 works will be shown, including a large print of “Bolt Is Amazed Too,” which won the 2017 Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association Award. That exhibition runs October 28 through November 11. During the run, the entrance will also be open on October 29, November 3 and November 5 — days the building would normally be closed — so visitors can see the show. Hours are 10:00–21:00 on weekdays and 10:00–18:00 on weekends and holidays. Admission is free. (On October 29, November 3 and 5, restaurants in the building are generally closed.)