What kind of sports do you do?

I want to get healthier/leaner and find a new hobby/socialize.
What sports do you do in Tokyo? And where?
I tried pilates today, was pretty good!

49 comments
  1. I do extreme couch sitting. Just make sure to warm up and stretch before trying it, you might hurt yourself.

  2. Swimming (not technically a sport) was how I kept myself healthy in both Tokyo and Shizuoka (where I live these days). Because I live near the ocean, I swim at any of these beaches or in the Fuji pool (Shizuoka pref pool). In Tokyo, you can find many pools and I often used the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Sendagaya and Minato-ku Sports Centre in Tamachi. Entry is cheap, you can also get a monthly pass.

    *Note:* *There is some strange swimwear etiquette, but I just wear my cross back swimwear (typical conservative swimwear) and avoid bikinis (too much cleavage). Outside of the pool, I sometimes wear swim shorts over my swimwear. Watch out for creeps; I was groped twice.*

  3. Not a sport, but I’m a hobby farmer. My body gets quite the workout from working dem hoes.

  4. I just go to the gym these days, so no sport really. Sometimes swimming if the pool isn’t crowded. I’d love to play tennis but just don’t have the time. Would also like to take up boxing or kendo. Maybe judo. Again no time.

  5. Street-workout/ calisthenics, focusing on high reps and endurance. 4 years ago I also started to compete at a national level.

    I’m not in Tokyo, but I know there is a calisthenics community in Kanto too.

  6. Cycling. Low impact and great for exploring the town and getting out into nature.

  7. Kickboxing, Muay Thai.
    I sometimes meet up with people from Reddit and do pad work if you live around the toyoko line. I can teach basics and share some gloves.

  8. Hiking, boxing and powerlifting.

    I used to go to a gym but unless you go to powerlifting gyms like esquatir, the equipment is always subpar (only 2-3 power racks with like only 160-200kg of plates per rack) so I built my own gym at home.

  9. Used to do physique a bodybuilding category but not competing anymore. I love working out because I can do it alone. After a couple of years of coaching my towns local running team and often running with them as I coached I got back into running then trail/ultra running after I decided hiking was too slow. Again I prefer to do this alone but there are plenty of groups to socialize with. I also join a lot of the local sports they have at the local community center in the gymnasium. Usually you need a few people to join your team so you need friends to join but if you are interested in joining but don’t have enough members I still think it would be worth applying and letting them know you want to join but don’t have team mates they might be able to set you up with a team. I also do ekidens. I usually get a call telling me so and so signed me up with a team without the chance to refuse… but after there is always a bbq after where you can eat and drink with the other runners and the friends and families.

  10. Is extreme stress a sport? Meeting marathons?

    No?

    Love Pilates too, and kickboxing!

  11. Bodybuilding. Don’t recommend it on a competitive level unless you’re just fucking crazy. I love it and still feel fucking crazy doing it. Lately I’ve been sleeping every other day bc the hunger is too intense to sleep every night. I just lay in bed until 5am, then get up and do my morning cardio. Which is totally normal in this sport before a competition. Luckily in bodybuilding you generally only compete about once or twice a year, so this isn’t how it is most of the time.

  12. Walking mostly. I sometimes just pick a destination far from my house in Tokyo and walk there. I don’t check the map for directions just check to make sure I’m still walking in the general direction. It’s a great way to find new places.

  13. Hiking, swimming (rivers or ocean), weight lifting and cardio 6 days a week

  14. Paragliding – in the mountains near Tokyo. A lot of hike & fly, which is quite tiring!

  15. Bouldering. I used to go sometimes with friends in my home country, but started doing seriously here in Japan. Lot of gyms around, as Japan is one of the top performer at the sport, but also a lot of outside bouldering places. My gf also started doing it, so now it is something we share together. Fun to do, and people at the gym are all pretty chills.

  16. I’m not in Tokyo. But, I cycle a lot, and I am apart of a tennis club and practice 2h per week.

  17. I lift weights at the gym, go bouldering, and do Muay Thai/Kickboxing. There are tons of places around where you can do those so they’re pretty easily accessible too.

  18. Weightlifting and surfing. Snowboarding in the winter and hopefully if I have time I can pick up bouldering after surf season ends.

  19. Snorkeling / “skin diving” as they call it. That’s pretty much all I do in summer! And I’ve joined a yoga class and a gym

  20. Disc golf. The closest course to Tokyo is at Showa Kinen Koen about an hour west on the Chuo line. I’d play more if it was closer.

  21. Starting to do aggressive inline again, but I’m going to start going to the gym too because my body isn’t what it used to be after stopping for a lot of years.

  22. Check out dodgeball on the meetup app. Lots of fun, lots of friendly people.

  23. Most of my exercise is on my own. I walk a ton, ride my bike a few km most days, and sometimes do some basic weights or yoga (on youtube) in my living room.

    For something that you could socialize with, I play futsal occasionally. Work organizes it every once in a while, and I play sometimes with people from my old circle. Lots of convenient places to play around the city. Fun and a very good workout. I know there are also some MeetUps and facebook groups but I haven’t joined any.

  24. Mostly weight lifting at the gym, but I have been thinking on starting Judo again. Miss it way too much.

    But tbh I would love to do some martial art with a bunch of friends, sounds like a fun hangout.

  25. Nothing beats a good run, especially after sundown in this intense heat / humidity.

  26. I am a marathon/ultra-marathon runner, and I like to do some more beginner mountaineering.

  27. When I wore a younger man’s clothes I played hockey (the kind on ice) and then later futsol for a short time.

    Both were great, and I met lots of new friends.

    The hockey thing was when I first came to Japan and was very important to me! First, I had a group of people who were not related to my job. Second, most of the people didn’t speak English very well, so I had to use Japanese to communicate. My Japanese improved greatly! Third, I could continue doing something I loved which helped relieve stress and stay in shape. (Since I retired my shape has become much more round.) It was a big reason I stayed in Japan at the time!

    Futsol is great because there are more people from all over the world, seriously. The group I was with had about half Japanese, half non-Japanese: Brazilian, Peruvian, English, Korean, and Canadian (me). It was lots of fun. We communicated in Japanese, it being the only truly common language among us.

    So, if you have something you like doing, try finding a place and a group to do it with.

    If you don’t, try something new, you will meet people and (hopefully) have fun!

  28. Not a sport but being a very indulgent goat owner. I spend a couple hours everyday hiking them around to different grazing places in our local mountains.

  29. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu – I train in Osaka but my team has gyms in Tokyo. It’s fun, full of friendly people and an excellent way to get in shape 👍

  30. You say you live near hills that is perfect for rucking. Put weight in a pack and walk. Adjust difficulty by weight and pace. Low impact. Many benefits.

  31. Running the streets of Tokyo every morning.
    Also, there are many good hiking/trail runs in and around Tokyo.

  32. Football, boxing, American football, bodybuilding (not competitive anymore) and basketball whenever I go to Yokosuka.

    I recommend joining and meeting people/sports circles through there. All morning peeps at my gym are cool af

  33. Basically walk everywhere. Until I get a bank account, then its back to powerlifting. Love handling some iron!

  34. Power lifting.

    I actaully won my prefectures weight class because so few people compete LOL.

    I am litterly in the Japan Power Lifting history forever! Got a medal and certificate and everything.

    I found “losing weight” or “getting in shape” to be goals that just didn’t keep my motivation. Going to the gym for 15 years and never really getting very far. I started lifting heavy and just focusing getting on getting stronger. Nothing else. Not paying attention to weight. And it was fucking great. I found more motivation in that than any other goal in the gym. I could see it progress day by day, week by week. I signed up for the prefectural competition and won my weight class!

    ​

    (edit: when covid hit, I stopped cold turkey. It was scary, no one really knew how bad it was or going to get. Luckily I moved to a house big enough that I am could build my own home gym. Not fully decked. But power rack, compeition bench. enough. But I am on TRT now and can’t compete anymore. So back to struggling with finding that motivation. What do I want at 41 if I can’t compete? I’ve lost 6.5kg since June. But that 98% diet. Since I decided to cut, I barely lift. I figure lets drop 20kg, then we hit the gym to bulk up, whats the point of lifting if I am losing weight which is my goal… so back to where I was pre-powerlifting struggling with the motivation. )

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