Why is the gym membership in Tokyo so expensive? I’ve heard this kind of things million times already. It is true that it’s expensive to get a membership. It’ll cost you 10,000 yen a month if it’s a decent gym. Even if you go twice every week, you’re paying 1250 Yen every time you step into the little space in a old building near the station. Well, you might not know a thing called a “public gym.”
There are two kinds of gym in Japan. A private gym and a public gym. Private gyms are very easy to find in this city so you probably have seen already. They’re located in good accessible locations (most likely walking distance from train stations), sometimes even available 24/7. These private gyms are mainly targeted for those busy Japanese business people who have money for gyms but doesn’t have time to actually go there.
Public gyms, however, are designed not just for business people but also the various members in the local community. They are not as conveniently located as private gyms or definitely not 24/7. 200 yen fee is a game changer, in my opinion.
Every city and ward, own its public gyms in their district. You might want to search online to see if it’s located close to your house.
If it is, you’re lucky. It means you have good access to the extremely affordable gym environment. When I was in Oakhouse Kichijoji 2, I did not have many chance to go to Mitaka city’s public gym simply because the gym wasn’t located close to the house. I had to take a bike or bus to get there.
I moved to Tachikawa Garden Town in April 2018 and the whole thing changed because Tachikawa city’s public gym is right at the back of the house. Tachikawa City Shibasaki Civic Gymnasium is the name of the gym located right behind Tachikawa Garden Town. They have a training room for exercise, free weight stuff, courts for badminton, basketball, pingpong, and evem 25M swimming pool. There are also various kinds of weekly courses that you can sign up like swimming lessons, badminton lessons, or many kinds of aerobics. For some classes, you can show up on the spot and join.
These photos were taken when I went to the gym to play badminton with Phil, who also lives in Tachikawa Garden Town. It was Friday evening at 7pm. There’s a free lesson by the local sports science university student every Friday night and I went there with Phil.
I now go to the public gym almost twice a week for work out, do some runs on a treadmill. Went for badminton for a couple of times with Phil, my neighbor in Tachikawa Garden Town. Sighed up for some exercise courses which was pretty fun. Most of the things we did in that gym were less than 200 yen and we can stay there for as long as we want. This is such a great deal compared to the private gyms around the station.
