Martial Arts: a guide to practice Karate in Japan

As we already spoke about this subject a few month ago here, the experience of discovering and training a Martial Art in its country of origin can be a very interesting way to explore and understand the history, culture and philosophy of its society.

Amongst all of the Martial Arts originating from Japan, Karate is one of the most popular in the world. Being an experienced Karate-ka or a total beginner, to come to Japan and practice for a few weeks or several months in a Japanese Dojo turns out to be a lifetime unique experience. For everybody, discovering Karate or any other Japanese Martial Art in Japan can offer an interesting opportunity to touch the core of the art and the country's culture.

But how to find the good Dojo, and what about the communication and the language barrier for non-Japanese speakers? It can be difficult to find the good place to start, and a few information is available on the net in English.

We at Tokyo Room Finder have contacted about 40 Karate Dojos in the Tokyo area and built a useful guide for people who aim to practice this Martial Art at places where English, and sometimes other languages such as French, Spanish, Portugues or Chinese for example can be used, or at Dojos where some simple basics of Japanese are enough to start to train!

Please find below all informations about Karate federations in Japan and Dojos, with address, website and special notes. Don’t hesitate to contact them, you will be warmly welcome! You can also download this guide in PDF format here for printing, and find the map of all Dojos mentioned by clicking here.

KARATE FEDERATIONS IN TOKYO

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION　日本空手協会総本部

Address: 2-23-15 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo JAPAN 112-0004

社団法人日本空手協会総本部道場、〒112-0004　東京都文京区後楽2-23-15

Tel: 03-5800-3091 (from Monday through Friday 10:00 - 17:00 Japan time)

Homepage: http://www.jka.or.jp/english/e_index.html (English available)

General information, membership and training: [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL KARATE-DO ORGANIZATION IKO国際空手道会・全日本空手道会

Address: Sotokanda 5-5-9, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan

〒101-0021東京都千代田区外神田5-5-9

Tel: 090-2211-8889

Homepage: http://iko-goju.com/eng/ (information available in Japanese, English, French, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Chinese)

General inquiries: http://iko-goju.com/inquiry/

KARATE NO MICHI WORLD FEDERATION 空手之道世界連盟

Address: Shoutou 1-9-22, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150-0046, Japan

〒150-0046　東京都渋谷区松濤1-9-22

Tel: 03-5465-2515

Homepage: http://www.kwf.jp/ (English available)

General inquiries: [email protected]

A LIST OF DOJOS IN TOKYO WHERE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CAN BE USED, OR A BASIC LEVEL OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE:

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION – ISKC KARATE 東京都 ISKC大志塾

Address: Meguro Honshou 5-22-8, Meguro-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

目黒区目黒本町5-22-8

Tel: 03-5800-3091

Homepage: http://www.jka.or.jp/j_shibu/info/tokyo/iskc/index.html (in Japanese)

Information: [email protected] (Richard Sensei)

Notes: Classes are taught in English and Japanese by Richard Sensei, a certified JKA British instructor.

◆Tokyo Room Finder's guesthouses and share-houses in the same area:

Ryo Meguro and 1st House Gakugei-Daigaku (please click on the names)

HERO KARATE GIRLS

Address: lessons in Ebisu and Yokohama, see website for schedule and details

Tel: 03-3772-8846

Homepage: http://www.agila.co.jp/ (English available)

Information: [email protected] (Ms. Hiromi Hishiki)

Notes: Karate lessons for girls, women and personal lessons by JKA female Karate instructor Hiromi Hishiki. English OK!

◆Tokyo Room Finder's guesthouses and share-houses:

near Ebisu: Nikko Palace Gotanda

with direct access to Ebisu: click here

In the Yokohama area: Mankitsu House Yokohama Gumyoji and Tsurumi Crib

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION – MEGURO BRANCH 日本空手協会　目黒支部　瀬戸塾

Address: Higashi Gotanda 2-11-12 - Shinshinagawa-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

館品川区東五反田2-11-2

Tel: ０３－３７１４－６４６９

Homepage: http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~karate/ (English, Spanish and Portugues information available)

Information: [email protected] (Tetsuya Sugioka)

[email protected] (Kanako Goto)

Notes: some basics of Japanese language are required

◆Tokyo Room Finder's guesthouses and share-houses in the same area:

Ryo Meguro and 1st House Gakugei-Daigaku

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION – SHIMOKITAZAWA BRANCH 日本空手協会下北沢支部

Address: Shimokita 3-30-13, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

東京都世田谷区北沢3-30-13

Tel: 03-3469-5295

Homepage: http//www.jka-shimokita.jp/ (in Japanese only)

Information: [email protected]

Notes: If you are already a Karate practitioner and don’t speak Japanese, you can join the dojo. If you are a beginner, some basics of Japanese language are required

◆Tokyo Room Finder's guesthouses and share-houses in the same area:

Borderless House Shimokitazawa

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION – JOOSAI BRANCH 日本空手協会　城西支部

Address: Nakano 4-12-7, Nakano-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

東京都中野区中野４丁目１２番７号(中央中学校）

Tel: ０９０－８８１１－３４４１

Homepage: http://www009.upp.so-net.ne.jp/n-taishi/ (Japanese only)

Information: [email protected]

Notes: If you are already a Karate practitioner and don’t speak Japanese, you can join the dojo. If you are a beginner, some basics of Japanese language are required

◆Tokyo Room Finder's guesthouses and share-houses in Nakano-Ku: click here

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION – MEJIRO BRANCH 日本空手協会目白支部

Address: Meiho Heights 1st Floor, Nakaochioi 3-6-13, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

東京都新宿区中落合３-16-13　明穂ハイツ１階

Tel: 03-3950-2201

Homepage: http://jka.web.infoseek.co.jp/index.html (Japanese only)

Information: [email protected]

Notes: You need to know how to count from 1 to 10 in Japanese

◆Tokyo Room Finder's guesthouses and share-houses in Shinjuku-Ku: click here

JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION – CHIYODA KARATE CLUB 千代田空手道倶楽部（くらぶ）

Address: Chiyoda Judo Sports Center, Uchikanda 2-1-8, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

千代田区内神田２－１－８千代田区立スポーツセンター柔道場