Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium — Local services in Tokyo

Reviewing gym and pool. 600 yen ticket is cheap given you get access to both gym and pool (edit: now 700, although this is still okay value).

Gym: 3.5 stars. Old equipment but full range available. Sign up system for free weights (20 minute slots) means getting sets in is normally no issue as you don’t get groups hogging the equipment. Not sure on deadlifts - think they’re only really possible on one rack, and not sure whether you’d be stopped if you tried them. Auxiliary machine selection generally excellent, with plenty of water dispensers around.

Pool: 2 stars. Should be great but it’s not a pleasant experience. Whole area of 50m pool roped off for walking; traffic is too much for the remaining lanes, especially at peak times. 25 pool always has kids lessons on, so basically no opportunity to use for lap swimming there. Users can sometimes be totally unaware of the people around them. List of rules is ridiculous, wish I could’ve taken a picture of the poster; includes blanket ban on electronics and sports watches (even when covered). Was told this was due to possible interference with pacemakers etc, but this seems like total nonsense given they’re allowed in the gym and I’ve never come across this anywhere before. For some reason a covered sports watch is fine at the Tokyo Aquatics Center but not here…makes zero sense. Typical of sports facilities here - load up so many rules that the fun is sucked...

Overall it is a nice facility, some corners maybe looking older than others, but for the entry price I found it was adequate quality.

The women’s locker room is spacious, has an onsen-type hot bath and a rest room. There is no body soap, shampoo or conditioner provided, so don’t forget to bring your own.

I only visited the pool, considering to cancel my gym membership. The hall is impressive with many lanes… but even more people. On a Tuesday evening, most free lanes were quite crowded. Other lanes were reserved, especially 25m.

Personally, I felt quite stressed having always someone swimming in my back and not being used to swim 50m. Most swimmers are crawling and take it quite professionally. But despite that, no smartwatches are allowed, even with a protective cover. For someone who wants to track their exercise, this is unfortunate. Won’t be quitting my...

I used to be a fan of this place because of its accessibility (no membership needed) and overall cleanliness.

But there is a downside to this that I learned the hard way: there is no control of what kind of people goes here!

There is petty theft in the ladies changing room.. of all places!

I bought a multi access pass, the Y5,000 with Y5,900 credits, and somebody intentionally took it when I dropped it in the bathroom stall by accident! Worst, the suspected person got hold of my card that was brand spanking new: like my first time to get the card. ( I would know because I saw who took it as it was reflected in the bathroom mirror!)

Because of the incident, I didn’t dare come back to this place. It’s very unsettling that you could not trust people around you any longer.

I would rather pay on private gyms for my...