Sports and Fitness
Gyms and Fitness Centers
Fukuno
A-Mieux (ア ミュースポーツクラブ）: Has a pool, aerobics classes, weights, and a sauna.
Price: Regular memberships start at 9,180 yen per month.
Hours: M-Sat 10 AM – 10 PM; Sun ＆Holidays 10 AM- 6:30 PM
Takaoka
Opus (オーパスフィットイネスクラブ): pool, fitness club.
Price: Regular memberships start at 8,000 yen/month (with a 15,000 yen initiation fee). There are many types of members ships including weekend-only memberships, fitness memberships, etc. Prices vary depending on membership type.
Hours: M-Th 10 AM- 11 PM; F-Sat 10 AM- 10 PM; Sun 10 AM- 6:30 PM
Axtos(アクトス): gym, swimming pool, sauna, steam room, whirlpool and aroma therapy room (massage chair room). Conveniently located in the south side of Takaoka, but can be a bit of a trek in the winter snow if you don’t have a car.
Note: They require hanko, zairyu card, and bank book when you sign up.
Holiday Sports Centre: Has free weights, cardio machines, a pool, sento, massage chairs/relaxation room, and various class (yoga, jazz, Jpop, dance, etc). It’s located about 2km from the north side of Takaoka Station, and about 4 blocks before you hit route 8 (where Yamada Denki is). It’s on the right hand of the street.
Price: Memberships start at 8,300 yen per month, but this price is reduced if you join with other people.
Hours: M-Th, Sat 10 AM- 12 AM; Sun & Holidays 10 AM- 9 PM
Sports Dome Airs (スポーツドームエアーズ): Gym with weight machines, free weights, bikes, step machines and treadmills; swimming pool (25m); sento and sauna; TV room with massage chairs; tanning beds; tennis courts; massages available for extra fee. THey also have numerous classes including boxercise, aerobics, dance aerobics, and martial arts aerobics.
Located near Takaoka Shimin Hospital next to the Route 8 interchange where the tram road goes underneath Route 8. Good for anyone on the north side of the tracks. They also have a sister gym on the opposite side of town towards Tonami. If you are a member of either gym then you may access the other as well.
*Note: They require your hanko and zairyu card when you sign up. Also, you must bring a change of shoes as you cannot use the ones you normally wear outside. They have soap, shampoo, and hairdryers in the shower/bath area.
Price: Regular memberships start at 8,500 yen, but there are different types of memberships with varying prices. There are also special campaigns: Right now a special spring campaign has all memberships marked 50% off!
Hours: M-W, F 10 AM- 11 PM; Sat 10 AM – 9:30 PM; Sun 10 AM – 6 PM *Note they are closed on Thursdays
Toyama
Toyama City Gym: Many Toyama City ALTs use this gym. There are basketball courts, table tennis, martial arts, cardio machines, weight machines, free weights, indoor running course, and aerobics classes. There are locker rooms and showers available.
Parking: Parking in the ramp is free with two hours validation. Bring your parking ramp ticket to the front desk of the gym when you arrive and they’ll validate it for you.
*As with all gyms in Japan, you need to carry you gym shoes with you and change into them in the locker room.
Price: Each visit is 440 yen. You pay by inserting your money into a machine near the desk. You will get a ticket valid for 2 hours’ use of the facilities. You can also purchase multi-use cards. Alternatively you can purchase a yearly pass for about 22,000 yen. For frequent use, this is by far the best deal (going 3 times a week for a year would be almost 75,000 yen if you bought individual tickets). So definitely do the yearly pass if you plan to workout a lot. The yearly passes are purchased at the security office, not at the front desk. The security office is to the left as you come in the main door.
Hours: M-Sat 9 AM- 9:30 PM; Sun & Holidays 9 AM- 7 PM
Holiday Sports Club (ホリデイスポーツクラブ）: Has cardio machines, weight machines, massage chairs, a swimming pool, sento, sauna, and open air baths. It’s a huge building and has lots of great classes.
Price: Single-person monthly memberships start at 8,400 yen, but there are discounts for singing up with multiple people. There are also day-time only and night-time only membership options for 5,700 yen and 4,700 yen respectively.
Hours: M-Th, Sat 10 AM- 12 AM; Sun & Holidays 10 AM- 9 PM
APA Sports Club (アピアスポーツクラブ): A very large facility with a pool, exercise machines, group classes, outdoor running track, bath, whirlpool. One of the pricier options for fitness centers in Toyama.
Price: Monthly memberships start at 10,260 yen, and annual memberships are 112, 860 yen.
Hours: M-Sat 9:30 AM – 10 PM; Sun & Holidays 9:30 AM- 6 PM
Windy (ウィンディ): This recreational facility near the Sasazu train station in Osawano is highly recommended. It’s not a gym, but an aptly named “wellness resort.” There are four zones. The relax zone has a huge TV and massage chairs that fully recline. The gym zone has cardio machines and free weights. The onsen zone has a men’s’ and women’s’ section. Lastly the (misspelled) “bade” zone that has swimming pools, hot tubs, an outdoor jacuzzi, a wading pool, water slide, sauna, and steam room. This is a great place to spend cold winter nights, either after school or snowboarding. If you live in Osawano or Yatsuo, it’s the place to go.
Price: You can buy tickets individually or in books. These start at 1,300 yen per ticket, and a book of 11 tickets are sold for 13,000 yen. Annual memberships start at 60,400 yen.
Hours: M- Sat 10 AM- 10 PM; Sun & Holidays 10 AM- 9 PM *Note, you may not check-in within an hour of closing.
Crazy Gorilla Kickboxing Gym: This gym specializes in kickboxing for all ages, genders and skill levels. It is beginner friendly and because it’s quite small compared to other gyms, the owner and other members create a tight-knit gym community. (The square footage of the whole gym is about the size of about 2 or 3 high school classrooms). Other members and the owner will get to know you well and give you pointers. You will often spar/exercise together with the same people so you will get to know them well too. There are 7 bags, one fighting ring, several weighted and unweighted jump ropes, one set of dumbbells (5, 10, 20kg), one set of adjustable weights (goes up to about 24 kg on each), one bench. There are lots of shin guards, head gear, and sparring gloves available to borrow. You will need to buy your own wraps and gloves (for MIT training). You can buy these items at the gym anytime. Prices are reasonable. The gym has changing rooms where large storage cubbies are available for your items. The shower rooms are individual, lockable rooms set apart from the changing rooms.
Crazy Gorilla also hosts get-togethers and events at the gym/around Toyama throughout the year. (Sparring tournaments– about 2 a year, 忘年会 – end of year party、新年会 – new year’s party, beach BBQ, etc.) There are a handful of bilingual members and the owner also speaks fluent English. Events are really fun, and even if you’re not fighting in tournaments yourself, you can come, watch, and support other members.
Hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-1pm and 5pm-10pm; Saturday/Sunday/Holidays, 10am-4pm; Tuesday: CLOSED
Classes:
Kid’s Class: Monday and Thursday, 5pm-6pm
HIIT Class: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 7pm-7:30pm
Beginner Class: Monday and Friday, 7:30pm-8:30pm
Defense Class: Wednesday, 8pm-9pm
*Aside from the time allocated for class, you can freely use all the space and equipment as you wish. If you come during a class time, there is no pressure for you to join if there is some other thing you would rather do on your own (lift weights, stretch, jump rope, etc).
Parking: Parking is free and you can park anywhere around the front of the gym. Its capacity is about 8 cars. If you’re biking, parking anywhere around the front of the gym is fine. When it’s busy, the best spot seems to be on the right side of the building, close to the wall.
How to sign up/check the vibe before joining: There’s 見学 – preview/tours available and you can email or call the gym to schedule it. Or you can just show up at the gym during regular hours and ask for Harada-sensei. Come wearing clothes that are easy to move in, bring something to drink, and a sweat towel if you’d like. Your other items can be stored in the changing room cubbies.
*You do not need indoor shoes. Take off your shoes at the entrance and use the cubbies to store your shoes. You don’t need socks either. (Unless your feet are cold and you want to wear them while you warm up.)
*If you have visible tattoos, feel free to leave them uncovered.
Price/Registration Procedure: See here.
Namerikawa
Namerikawa Sougo Taiikukan Center (Namerikawa General Facilities Sports Training Center): This is the only gym in Namerikawa. There is a small training room with three treadmills, a couple of exercise bikes, and some free weights. It’s really small, but if you are looking for a place to run in the winter or just want to lift weights, it will do. On Saturday mornings there is an aerobics class, and there are other classes including karate and judo. There is also a gymnasium where you can play badminton, basketball, etc. After school on Saturdays and Sundays it is often booked for junior high and high school tournaments or sports practice, but if you want to play basketball after 7pm or so on a weekday you shouldn’t have any problems.
Price: 210 per visit
Hours: M-F 9 AM- 9 PM, except for Tuesday when the gym is closed; Sat-Sun 9 AM- 5 PM
Uozu
Ariso Techno Dome: Has ball rental, gym, weights, classes, and cardio machines.
Price: The training room and arena can be used for two hours at a time for 210 yen and 410 yen respectively. You can use the running course once for 100 yen. You can pay for 1 or 11 tickets to use any of these. If you wish to use the training room more frequently, you may pay for a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month pass.
Hours: M- Sat 10 AM – 9:30 PM; Sun & Holidays 10 AM- 5 PM
Sports Academy (スポーツアカデミー魚津): Has cardio machines, a pool, and studio. You may make reservations for a tour of the facility and a trial membership.
Price: Regular membership starts at 8,100 yen per month. There are also daytime and nighttime memberships (7,020 yen/month), pool-only memberships (6,804 yen/month), and studio & gym memberships (5,400 yen/month).
Hours: Regular, studio & gym, and pool members can use facilities from hours are M-F 10 AM- 9:30 PM; Sat 9 AM- 9:30 PM; Holidays 10 AM- 7 PM. Daytime members can visit from 10 AM- 4 PM; Nighttime members can visit from 5:30 PM- 9:30 PM. *Note, this gym is closed on Sundays.