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Deicide

I wanted to enquire as to whether or not there are affordable, well equipped gyms (cardio and heavy weights, squat rack, etc.) in a decent sized town like Kyoto, Sendai or Sapporo...what kind of price range are we talking about? Any information about gyms will be appreciated....cheers, D

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

I pay 8,000 yen per month. 25m pool, workout machines, treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, aerobics studio, stretch mats, fully equipped locker room, onsen, sauna, masage armchairms, but no free weights.

Deicide · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:01 pm Post subject:

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

I go to a gym in Tokyo... I pay 13 650 yen per month. They have aerobics studio, pool, sauna, jacuzzi, weights machines, cardio equipment, free weights, locker room, massage therapy,aroma therapy etc. The free weights area in my opinion is adequate although if you're a a hard core free weights guy you might not be satisfied.

kitano · Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 86

I go to a Konami and it has free weights although not as many as you would expect compared to the overall size of the facility but there are gyms more geared towards bodybuilding rather than fitness. For example there is a Gold's gym near my Konami. I'm sure in the large cities you mentioned you can find a good gym if you do a little research.

ndorfn · Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Posts: 126

I paid about 6000 / month in a small city. it lacked a lot of free weights and I was maxxing out a couple of the machines, even though I'm no Incredible Hulk.

my apartment now has enough room to make my own gym (well, bench, barbell and a few dumbells, but enough plates).

if japanese is ok, check out this website:

http://www.bodymaker.jp/shopping/category/PT.shtml

the prices aren't bad, free delivery, and you can listen to your own music as you work out, as well as being naked in summer.

sushi · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 145

I have been looking for free weights to use in my abode. Haven't had any luck. There are the odd dumbells for sale at the sports shops, but for the life of me I can't find a bench with supports to do a bench press, or a barbell and free weights. On a trip back to Korea I was thinking of buying a barbell set and bench and bringing them over on the ferry from pusan. might even be able to get them on the plane. Who knows.

Get the feeling that the gymnasiums have cancelled out any suppliyers of equipment that might have been.

Deicide · Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:21 pm Post subject: Well apparently...

someone on referred me to Gold's Gym and though it seems a bit pricy I think when the day comes that will be my choice...I am a hardcore (hobby) lifter and I like having all the essentials that are needed for a real workout and certainly Gold's won't fail in that capacity...even iff it is 11,000 yen, oh well...Japan is expensive...though I am not looking forward to being poorer in Japan than I am in Korea...it is a necessary evil...cheers all...D

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

Would definitely recommend that you look around a bit before joining somewhere. I find most Japanese gyms to be a rip-off. I used to pay ￥8500 a month for a place with no free weights which opened at 10am closed at 10pm but didn't like anyone coming in after 9pm. They were also closed Sundays and public holidays! At the time, the other places I found were equally restrictive, sometimes in different ways and just as pricey.

I got lucky 4 years ago when I found one with the prefect mix of free weights, machines, cardio stuff etc for a bargain Y40,000 (total, NOT each)a year for 2 people, or Y30,000 for family membership for all family members. Needless to say, I still use this one. I don't know anyone near me with a better deal, but I do know a few people who use municipal gyms and just pay a small fee on the day, like Y400.

sushi · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 145

Check the universities where you live. Some of them have good weight rooms and they are usually very clean. A campus of Tohoku Gaeuken was near my digs when I was in Sendai, and they had excellent facilities. The gym was open from 8 in the morning to midnight every day, and no questions were asked. I got to use everything for free. There was women's college nearby as well, and they had no qalms with me using their equipment.( Weight machines and bench press)

Like a Rolling Stone · Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Posts: 872

sushi · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 145

I didn't work there. I just walked in and started working out, and no one said anything. I think that if they wanted to get picky I might have been asked to pay minimal fees like about Y1000 a month.

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

I think sushi's idea is an excellent one - at many universities, you'd surely just be assumed to be an exchange student or similar and no questions would be asked at all.

FWIW, I reckon there are probably similar possibilities with some company gyms. I've had a couple students offer me the chance to use their company gym and both assured me it would neither be a problem, nor cost me any money. One guy said he'd tell the staff at the gym to expect me so that they wouldn't question my presence. For a variety of reasons, (chiefly the distance to the places) I didn't take up either offer. And I doubt you could just turn up at a company gym and start using their stuff and get away with it. But once you get to know some people here, it's another example of how you can avoid the rip-offs most Japanese gyms involve if you use your eyes and ears a bit.

ndorfn · Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Posts: 126

sushi · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 145

Thanks for that ndforn. I have just checked that site. Incidently the weights at the university that i got to use aren't olympic weights. They have a whole lot of barbells in racks with different weight s permanently fixed. You get to choose what you want to use and go at it. It was good enough and I got to get into my old routine again.

I did join a regular expensive gym, but I got frustrated, because it had only one bench set, and the dumbells were near and used a lot by ladies trying to trim down and whar havbe you. Put my concentration off and just couldn't seem to get going.

I found out about the university from one of the basketball players playing on the Sendai team in that new league. Met him in macdonalds in Izumi Chuo and he said they let him practice in the gymn for free. Guy also happened to be the star as well, so i guess it's easy to see how he got to be good. It would have taken me forever otherwise to find out that there was such a gym.