Jiu Jitsu Gym Near Me in Meidaimae: Axis, Japan's First Gracie School

Axis Jiu-Jitsu Academy charges men ¥2,500 for a single class and women and students ¥1,800, according to its Japanese fee page, and visitors from abroad pay no subscription fee. The Tokyo headquarters is on the first floor of Toa Meidaimae, 1-34-16 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku, two minutes on foot from Meidaimae Station on the Keio and Keio Inokashira lines. It began in 1997 as Gracie Japan, the first official Gracie jiu jitsu school in the country.

Takamasa Watanabe founded the academy on September 9, 1997, under the name Gracie Japan Jiu-Jitsu Academy. As it moved to a bigger facility it was renamed Axis Jiu-Jitsu Academy, in 2000 according to the history page and on February 26, 2001 according to the profile page, and became the official Japan representative of the Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Association.

The academy states that Watanabe, a third-degree black belt under Rickson Gracie, is still the only black belt from Rickson in Asia. He also founded the BJJ Federation of Japan in 1997 and the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Japan in 2008. Axis now counts 12 branches in Japan and five abroad, with more than 1,500 members.

Instead of naming classes by belt alone, Axis alternates by calendar. On even-numbered dates the academy runs Basic Class Days, teaching fundamental stand-up and ground techniques, and members who are not in the class can use half the mat for free training. Odd-numbered dates are Advanced Class Days.

For a first visit, that makes the date matter more than the weekday. Pick an even date, and you are in the session built for learning a technique cleanly rather than refining a game you do not have yet. Kids classes run in two age groups, and the HQ's 520 members range in age from 4 to 65, so a 50-year-old beginner will not be the oldest person on the mat.

Plenty of Tokyo academies teach Gracie-derived jiu jitsu, but Axis is the one whose head instructor holds his rank directly from Rickson Gracie and represents his association in Japan. That lineage is the main reason to choose it, and it is spelled out on the profile page rather than implied.

Our honest view is that competitors chasing a busy tournament calendar will find more dedicated competition classes elsewhere; Tri-Force Gotanda and Carpe Diem Aoyama both print them on their timetables. Axis suits people who care where their technique comes from, and the mixed-age HQ membership reflects that. If you arrive on a closed day, Carpe Diem's Setagaya branch at 5-35-3 Kyodo is the nearest alternative in the same ward.

The access page lists weekday hours of 9:30 to 12:30 and 17:00 to 22:00, and weekends and holidays from 9:30 to 17:00. The academy is closed on Tuesdays and Fridays, including national holidays that fall on those days, which catches out many visitors who plan a Friday session.

Holiday timetables are posted as news. For the Monday holiday on October 12, 2026, the academy ran a 9:30 Basics class for any belt, a 10:30 blue-to-black belt class, kids classes at 12:10 and 13:20, another Basics class at 14:30 and a blue-to-black class at 15:30. Tuesday October 13 was closed as usual.

Memberships are sold by the number of classes. Men pay ¥11,000 for six classes a month, ¥17,600 for 15 and ¥22,000 for unlimited training. Women and students pay ¥6,600, ¥11,000 and ¥17,600, and female students ¥5,500, ¥8,800 and ¥16,500. The ¥10,000 enrollment fee applies to men only. Anyone who trains irregularly can simply pay per class: ¥2,500 for men, ¥1,800 for women and students and ¥1,700 for female students, with no monthly commitment. For a man training six times a month, the six-class plan at ¥11,000 costs less than six single classes at ¥15,000.

Visitors from abroad are asked to contact the academy before coming, because some days each month are members-only. The English page shows ¥3,200 as a visitor figure for men alongside the ¥2,500 per-class rate. Kids memberships run from ¥5,500 to ¥11,000 a month depending on class count and siblings, and are cheaper when a parent is also a member.

The facilities page describes a two-layer mat topped with anti-bacterial canvas, separate men's and women's locker rooms, a computerised fast check-in at reception, and a shop. It also has a large lounge serving organic fruit juices and other drinks, so a cold juice after training is part of the routine.

The way in is slightly hidden. Turn left out of the Meidaimae ticket gate, go under the tracks, walk down the parking-lot slope and climb the stairs beside a cram school. Phone enquiries are taken during business hours only, so call in the morning block or after 17:00 rather than mid-afternoon on a weekday. The Japanese directions call the station JR Meidaimae, but only Keio trains stop there, so do not look for it on a JR map.

Hanegi Park at 4-38-52 Daita is the classic Setagaya walk from this part of the Keio line, about 1.2 kilometres from Meidaimae in a straight line. Setagaya City's page describes its hillside plum grove, and in February and early March the slope fills with white and pink blossoms; Umegaoka Station on the Odakyu line is five minutes from the park.

Outside plum season, the park's open lawns and tennis courts are quieter, and you can walk back to Meidaimae or continue toward Shimokitazawa for coffee. On a Tuesday or Friday, when Axis is closed, the walk is the only part of this plan you can do.

Axis Jiu-Jitsu Academy Tokyo HQ, Toa Meidaimae 1F, 1-34-16 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Phone 03-3325-6699. Meidaimae Station (Keio Line and Keio Inokashira Line), 2 minutes on foot. Closed Tuesdays and Fridays, according to the access page; the English schedule page lists slightly different weekday hours and says the academy is open on national holidays, so the dated holiday notices on the news page are the most reliable guide. The site is axisjj.com; the similarly named axis-jj.com is an unrelated Australian shop. Visitors from abroad should contact the academy before travelling.