I was hoping to train karate but after checking out practically every dojo that appears on google maps (even other martials arts close enough to it) has a roughly 10 000 yen monthy price, on top of exorbitant registration fees, gear (+dougi), health insurance, yearly fee for god knows what…
I have done some taiken and it was not even great despite the price, with problems including notably mostly kids (even night classes), tiny dojos.
Has anyone had experience with martials arts in Japan?? How is your situation and the price? How did you come to terms with it? Do you think it’s worth it? Yen is not doing very good and they still manage to be more expensive than most dojos I have seen in the UK while overall worse in quality as well (no offense to them).
I really want to do martial arts but the monetary commitment is making this a tough decision for me, so it would be helpful if I could have other people’s perspectives.
6 comments
That just sounds like expensive gym
Not karate but I know the Shinjuku Sports Center has morning judo classes for a reasonable price (the last time I saw that flyer was 2 years ago tho).
I can’t remember how much it was but I just remembered thinking”wow this is a lot cheaper than the others I’ve seen!”
I pay 11000円 per month for my boxing classes and 10000円 per year for membership. It’s actually cheaper here compared to my country.
Not karate, but I do BJJ at Carpe Diem. They have many gyms all over the country all with a similar price structure. 8 times/month is roughly 13000 Yen, unlimited training is 15000 Yen.
I think the price is absolutely fair for what you get. Remember it is a full time job for the instructor who spends all day at the dojo.
10,000/month? That’s a great deal!
Did you check your city’s sport center ? It’s usually cheaper to go there.