Jiu Jitsu Gym Near Me in Kanda: Shrapnel's Basement by the North Exit

Shrapnel Jiu-Jitsu Academy Kanda is one minute from the North Exit of JR Kanda Station, down a flight of stairs into the basement of the Takato Building at 3-3-3 Kanda-Kajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Visitors pay ¥3,000 for a day with as many classes as they like, but only if they already belong to another dojo. Weekday lunch classes start at 11:00, and the evening session runs until free mat ends around 22:30.

Founder and head instructor Ichiro Kaneko started jiu jitsu in 2004, at the age of 29, and earned his black belt in 2010 after five years and four months. His profile describes him as largely self-taught and names no single teacher, which is unusual in a sport built on lineage.

The record that followed explains the academy's reputation: JBJJF All Japan black belt lightfeather titles in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the 2012 IBJJF Asian title, IBJJF World Masters gold in 2016 and again in 2023, and induction into the JBJJF Hall of Fame in 2016. He opened Shrapnel in Saitama in November 2015. Kanda is the academy's Tokyo branch and Omiya, in Saitama, is the other; the Kanda opening date is not published, so we will not guess it.

Kanda sits between Otemachi and Akihabara, and the timetable reads like it was drawn for office workers. The 11:00 to 12:00 class on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday is followed by free mat until 12:30, enough for a lunch-hour session if your office is on the Chuo or Yamanote line.

Evenings start at 19:00 or 19:30, after most offices empty out. No-gi and kids classes are taught only at the Omiya branch, so the Kanda room is a gi-only, adults-only space, and the white belt and over-40 class also appears only on the Omiya timetable.

Three class types fill the board. Basic runs 50 minutes and covers fundamentals. Regular A is also 50 minutes, with sparring taking place in the free mat that follows. Regular B is 60 minutes of technique and sparring together. Sparring is optional for beginners in every class.

On Monday the evening is Regular B at 19:30 and Basic at 21:00. Tuesday and Thursday run Basic at 19:00 and Regular B at 20:10; Wednesday has Basic at 19:00 and Regular A at 20:10; Friday has Basic at 19:30 and Regular A at 20:40. Saturday offers Basic at 10:30 and Regular A at 11:40 with free mat from 12:30 to 14:00, and Sunday a single Regular B at 10:30.

A first-timer should start with the Tuesday or Thursday 19:00 Basic and simply stay on the bench for the 20:10 Regular B that follows. Watching one hour of technique-plus-sparring after your own basics class shows you what the next six months look like without being thrown into it.

The price page states that unaffiliated visitors are refused. If you have trained before but have no home dojo, you cannot buy the ¥3,000 day pass, even if you are only in Tokyo for a week.

The workaround is the short-term one-month membership, which has no enrollment fee and costs one month's dues. For a long-stay visitor that means ¥13,200 for a general Fulltime month, or ¥11,000 for women and students, and it is a better deal than a string of day passes anyway. Complete beginners with no dojo are not affected by the visitor rule, because a free trial and free observation are available any time, and joining on the same day as the trial removes the enrollment fee.

The enrollment fee is ¥11,000 for general members and ¥8,800 for students from junior high upward, women and kids, and it is waived if you join on the same day as your free trial. Fulltime membership is ¥13,200 a month for general members and ¥11,000 for women and students; the 8 Days plan is ¥11,000 and ¥8,800. Sports insurance is ¥2,000.

Group sign-ups and friend referrals earn further discounts, and the autumn campaign posted on August 31, 2026 advertises savings of up to ¥24,200. Our honest advice: if you work nearby and can train at lunch as well as in the evening, take Fulltime, because the ¥2,200 gap over the 8 Days plan disappears once you train more than twice a week. If you can only come on weekday evenings, 8 Days is enough, since Monday to Friday offers two evening classes a night and you will rarely use more than eight a month.

The FAQ asks for a BJJ or judo gi; karate and aikido uniforms are not allowed. Bring a T-shirt to wear underneath, a towel, a drink (there is a vending machine outside) and a plastic bag for your sweaty gi.

Changing rooms lock and there are showers, so you can go back to the office afterwards in a clean shirt. Training at more than one academy is permitted with your current dojo's approval, but belts are awarded only by your main academy, a rule worth knowing if you split time between Kanda and a dojo near home.

Kanda Myojin shrine at 2-16-2 Sotokanda, about 1.3 kilometres from Kanda Station in a straight line, is the obvious walk after the Saturday 10:30 session. The shrine has served the Kanda and Nihonbashi neighbourhoods for centuries and is now also popular with Akihabara visitors, so mornings are the calmest time to see its vermilion gate.

From the shrine, Akihabara is downhill to the east and Ochanomizu to the west. If Kanda is closed on one of its posted dates, Tri-Force's headquarters-managed Asakusabashi branch is a short ride away on the Sobu Line.

Shrapnel Jiu-Jitsu Academy Kanda, Takato Bldg B1F, 3-3-3 Kanda-Kajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. JR Kanda North Exit and Ginza Line Kanda Exits 1 and 2 are one minute away; Iwamotocho, Ogawamachi and Awajicho stations are seven minutes. Free mat follows every evening class until 22:00 to 22:30. No phone number is published; contact the academy through LINE or its web form. Reception runs 11:00 to 20:00 with irregular closures, and October 2026 closures fall on the 2nd, 12th and 22nd.