I hadn't climbed much since college, and this almost turned me back to the train station. But we went ahead, it was fun, and now I go about once a week.
There are quite a few indoor rock climbing gyms in Tokyo. I go most to T-Wall. The two T-Wall climbing gyms (Edogawabashi and Kinshicho) have a good variety of top rope, lead, and bouldering courses. The bouldering area is usually the most crowded. I tend to avoid it because I am afraid of heights and hate jumping down from the top, about 10 feet above the mats. Top roping is much higher, but you are attached to, you know, a rope. (I still get the shakes pretty badly the first few times I go up a new wall.)
I have mixed feelings about the gyms. I love that they're there. I'm happy that I got back into climbing and I feel lucky that they are pretty convenient, cheaper than yoga, and both have good food nearby.
What I don't like is more about me than them. The people who work there seem cool and friendly. But around the time that Betty used up her second 10-time pass (I am supersitiously avoiding getting one), it started to bother me that they had never said anything to us besides, every single time, "Your total is 2100 yen." They respond politely when I try to start a conversation - "Hey, I like the new routes!" or "That loose hold near the top was pretty scary!" - but that's it.
I know we Americans are mocked the world over for our chattery small talk, but I think there's something to be said for it, especially when you have an obvious shared interest. I am realizing that it is something I actually miss.
We tend to see the same people there often. I would have thought that putting life and limb at risk a few feet from each other would tend to break the ice a bit, but it does not. Just the occasional nod. It's not all icicles - we've gotten to be friendly with a few of the other climbers there over time. I'm just surprised that it's not, overall, a friendlier atmosphere. I think it's a big-city thing.
The T-Walls cost 2100 yen for as long as you'd like to climb, plus a ￥525 membership fee that covers both places and their other bouldering gym. Shoe, harness, and chalk rental is an additional ￥945. (It gets a little cheaper after 8 pm, and a lot more crowded.)
For the Edogawabashi T-Wall, the nearest stations are Edogawabashi on the Yurakacho line (exit 4) and Kagurazaka on the Tozai line (exit 1). Scroll to the bottom of the T-Wall Edogawa info page to see the map.
For the Kinshicho T-Wall, the nearest stations are Kinshicho on the JR Sobu and Hanzomon lines (South exit) and Sumiyoshi on the Hanzomon and Shinjuku lines (exit 3). Scroll to the bottom of the T-Wall Kinshicho info page to see the map.
Note: Kinshicho is closed every Monday, and Edogawabashi is closed the first Monday of every month. Guess who found out the hard way.
On weekends, we've been to a few that are a little further, in Saitama.
Energy climbing gym in Urawa is bright and airy with a big lounge area. It has two self-belay devices and interesting top and lead routes as well as plenty of bouldering. Membership is ￥1050, admission is ￥2100, and shoe, harness, and chalk rental is ￥840. The closest stations are Nakaurawa and Musashi Urawa on the JR Saikyo line, 20–30 minutes from Shinjuku. Also closed Mondays.
B-Pump 1 in Kawaguchi had a friendly vibe. The lead area is very large. There are also many top rope courses. We were lucky to be the only people there the rainy Sunday we went, but they seem to be pretty close together - could feel crowded if there were a few more people. The closest station is Akabane on the Keihin Tohoku line. Same price scheme, but I think the membership fee was a little over ￥2,000. However, rentals are free. Closed Mondays.
There are bouldering gyms all over, like PekiPeki in Shibuya and Gravity in Takadanobaba. This Japan Today article has a list of some other bouldering gyms in Tokyo and Kanagawa at the end.
Bonus: Here's a great feature about rock climbing in Japan from Climbing.com.
4 comments:
I think its a Japanese thing, I went to various dojos for years and years, never really got past the polite greeting stage...
They make fun of us?!?
I don't know. When I was in Miyazaki, people my age invited me out to din the same night the first time I went to the one rock wall there. A neighbor's retired husband insisted I join his aikido class and drove me there every week even though I could barely understand a word. This is why I think it's an urban vs. rural thing. Similar experience in NY vs. non-NY. Where were your dojos?
I think it's definitely a urban vs rural thing, and in particular a Tokyo vs elsewhere thing. My (rock climbing) husband is always frustrated by how standoffish local Tokyo climbers are vs those in Australia or NZ - and he's Japanese!
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