Polls have consistently shown that the Games have been overwhelmingly unpopular among the Japanese public amid health and safety concerns.
Still, the mood appears to be shifting as competitions kick-off and Japan brings in gold medals.
IOC official Mark Adams said nearly 70 million watched the opening ceremony, with the Olympic broadcast services saying it was the most-watched event in Japan over the past decade.
Even though the buzz and excitement is a far cry from what you would expect for a city hosting the Olympics -- people are trying to experience the Games in any way possible.
Minoru Omori, a shopkeeper in Tokyo’s Koto ward -- home to ten Olympic venues -- was elated when he found out Tokyo had been chosen to host the 2020 Summer Games.
His district decked out Tokyo 2020 banners and posters and was expecting a tourist boom, but then the pandemic struck.
He told CNN he was happy the event hadn’t been cancelled but that the spectator ban in the capital was for the best.
I’ve been glued to the TV every night because I enjoy watching the Olympics and following the wins and the upsets," Omori told CNN.
I think the athletes have been training hard for this moment. Just being able to see their effort makes me happy, and I think Tokyo did a good job in pulling all this off.