If you live in Tokyo, chances are you aren’t surrounded by the lush green, rolling hills of the countryside back home. The work-out that comes with stepping out your front door to do just about anything isn’t there any longer. So the natural solution is to go to the gym. But it costs money, and depending on the gym, it costs a lot of money.
So what’s the alternative? Well, given that you’re an upstanding member of the community, you pay residential taxes so hopefully there will be privileges somewhere. And there are! While they might make it as difficult for cyclists as they possibly can, they do provide great facilities for their constituents – one of these is a gym for most (all?) Wards in Tokyo, and I’m sure wherever you live in the country.
The costs
Membership is typically free for these gyms with the sole requirement that you are either a resident of, or working in, the particular Ward. Nearly all the facilities you think you’d ever need are normally catered for.
Taking Minato-ku for example, they even have an English portion of their website detailing the facilities both for the sports centre (スポーツセンター) and also all other sporting facilities besides in the Ward. It costs ¥400 per person to enter the sports centre and there is no horrendous monthly subscription fee. Granted, with those private gym facilities that charge a monthly fee there are often perks that accompany the service, but for those who don’t need the perks, this is a great option.
Details
Below are some links for Wards in Tokyo – a simple Google search will yield some information quickly. If you live in a particular ward and would like help to find some information on it, please leave a comment and I’ll help you search for it and add what I find to this article.
- Chiyoda-ku (千代田区)
- Chuo-ku (中央区) [look for the link 'Sports Facilities' and click for a PDF]
- Kōtō-ku (江東区)
- Meguro-ku (目黒区) [under Chpt. 5, look for 'Sports Facilities' and click for a PDF]
- Minato-ku (港区)
- Ohta-ku (大田区) [Japanese only]
- Shibuya-ku (渋谷区)
- Shinjuku-ku (新宿区)
If your ‘Ku’ isn’t listed, which is likely, just find the Kanji for your particular Ward or area in Japan, and run a Google search. It will likely be the first link and on the results page. Enter the site and look for ‘English’ or ‘Multilingual’ links and you’re practically on the home straight. If you find information to add, please let me know in the comments section and I’ll add it to this post in the section above for all to benefit.
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