Hi! I've seen several posts on rock climbing in Japan, however many are old and was hoping to get updated information! I totally appreciate that it appears the predominance of climbing gyms in Japan are dedicated to bouldering and not roped, tall walls (e.g., sport and TR). I'm assuming that hasn't changed, but boy would I be psyched if new gyms had opened! In looking into a few of the places previously recommended (between r/JapanTravel, r/climbing, and r/travel), I've seen several are closed now, like T-Wall (sad).
Here are a few I've found from looking at other posts (mostly posts from around 5-6 years ago) –
- (Tokyo) Chūō-ku, Hamamatsu – Square Climbing Center
- (Tokyo) Higashikasai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo – Rocklands
- Osaka – Climbing Bum
- Osaka – Gravity Research
- (Tokyo) Kokubunji – Runout
- Yokohama – Climbing Park Stone Magic
My assumption is that most of these places will be difficult to navigate from a language perspective, but I had a few questions.
1) Does anyone know of any gyms I've missed that are worth trying out? Again, specifically TR and sport (sadly, we don't boulder)
2) Can anyone provide information on relative pricing on these, not specific costs per se but whether a day pass is worth it and if there are additional fees for registration
3) Are there belay tests/safety tests and if so, are these required to be in Japanese? (I saw a post for a fitness center, but for rope climbing, you are required to attend a safety session in Japanese on specific dates.)
4) Are there other pieces of advice we should be aware of? I.e., tattoos, navigating languages, ease of accessibility, etc.?
We will be traveling via public transportation and in the country for one week.
*I would also love any advice on sport crags outdoors there! We are traveling in about a week so I think the temperature is going to be a hindrance and not expecting that cragging would be in the cards. We would love a place that has easier climbing (around Vs, 5.7-5.9 or softer 5.10s by Yosemite grading) and not an insane approach (I worry more about time than intensity – we're ok to hike but I want to be mindful of a long approach and then noping out for the heat).
by artistinresidency