Trial gym ticket ?

Many gyms in Japan offer "Trial ticket" for prospects to try their gyms for free or a small fee only once. When I was travelling the area without any local gyms selling the day passe to travelers, I tried this a few times, pretending to be a prospect….

The first thing you have to do is to fill out the form and answer some questions. As I was their "prospect,", I had to make a white lie about my address (you can not live overseas to be a regular member !). I said I was considering moving to this city. They were ok with it. They just need to go through this protocol.

Next thing to follow was " gym tour". They kindly gave a tour and explained how to use some machines. I told them I used to go to other gym, so I know how to… but being polite, I still followed their tour….

After successful workout, I had to do an "Exit interview" , giving feedback about my experience. The whole process, including some waiting time, took an hour on top of my workout time…. At least I got a free workout with a bit of feeling guilty that I will never join this gym.

I just wanted to use the gym for one day during my business travel but no gyms were selling a day pass. I never minded paying but if I had said so, they would have refused it in the first place (they simply do not sell day pass ). Only way was to pretend to be a prospect and putting up with all processes (all in Japanese) in exchange for free workout. As a frequent traveler in Japan, I tried this a handful of times (sorry !) but I always regret each time I do…