Jan 21, 2020
Exercise Activities in Kobe
With the new year underway, many people will have made resolutions to lose those extra Christmas pounds or embark on a new healthier lifestyle. If you’ve come into 2020 looking to get into better physical shape, here is a guide on where to find exercise activities in Kobe.
Gym sessions
An excellent place to start if you want to increase exercise levels is a local gym. Kobe has many sports centers with gym equipment and exercise classes, with both public and privately run facilities available. Kobe Central Gym is one of the best public facilities. Kobe Central Gym has a small training room with machines suitable for people of all ages, plus they run aerobics and tai chi classes as well as offering many different sports sessions. Membership is 3,500 yen a month.
In the private sector, Joyfit24 is a good option. This company has three gyms in Kobe – Sannomiya, Itayado, and Shin Kobe – all open 24/7 (hence the name). Sessions are available for all abilities from beginner and upwards with prices depending on the facility and level of usage. The Sannomiya center is just over 6,500 yen a month for unlimited use.
Another good facility is the Kobi Oji Sports Center situated in Nada Ward. The training room equipment includes weight machines, exercise bikes, and a cross-trainer; all accessible by anyone for 350 yen. The center runs a variety of different sports and exercise classes, and facilities include a full-size running track, swimming pool, and tennis courts.
Healthy walks
If you fancy something a bit more leisurely – or scenic – then fear not. Kobe is a great city for walking around, and there are groups that run excursions allowing you to combine getting fit with sight-seeing and meeting new people. One such group is WalkKOBE, which organizes interactive walks around the city as well as climbing and hiking excursions to places such as Nunobiki Falls. Prices are in the region of 5,000 – 8,000 yen per activity.
Yoga classes
Yoga has grown in popularity in many parts of the world in recent years with experts extolling its benefits in terms of both physical and mental well-being. If you’d like to give it a try, there are several options in Kobe. Abundance Yoga, located in the hills of Kitano, offers sessions covering yoga in both English and Japanese. Four yoga courses are offered with packages available for 8,000 yen.
The Lava Hot Yoga Studio in Hyogo offers a range of sessions, including beginner sessions, power yoga, and pilates. Membership costs 16,800 yen a month, including tax. Kobeyoga has three studios – two in Kobe and one in Kyoto – that run classes in both yoga and pilates. Beginner sessions are available, and monthly membership plans range from 13,000 – 26,000 yen.
Some leisure centers and sports centers also run yoga classes. Check your local facility for details.
Boxercise
Fancy something a bit different? Get yourself down to the Kobe Community House and Information Centre in Rokko Island to try a bit of boxercise. Don’t worry; no actual contact is involved so you won’t end up with bruises or double-vision. It’s choreographed exercise using boxing moves. Sessions are on Thursdays 10:00-11:15 and cost 2,500 yen (1,500 yen for members). The center also runs a range of other activities, including tai chi, Zumba, and yoga.
Drumming workshop
The Taiko Center next to Sannomiya station offers one-hour traditional Japanese wadaiko drumming classes for 6,000 yen per session (adult price). It might not seem like the most obvious exercise choice, but drumming can raise the heart rate at the same level as basic exercise with the bonus that you’ll have a lot of fun and won’t feel like it’s a work out while you’re doing it.
Justin Hanus editor
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