Kickboxing Gym Near Me in Kamata: K-1 Gym by the East Exit

K-1 Gym Kamata occupies the third floor of the 24th Shimokawa Building at 5-18-5 Kamata, Ota-ku, Tokyo 144-0052, one minute from JR Kamata Station: turn left out of the ticket gates and ride the escalator down to the east exit. A men's membership is ¥14,300 a month and a women's ¥11,980, and anyone joining in October 2026 pays no joining fee, no registration fee and nothing for the first month. For a kickboxing gym near me in south Tokyo that also teaches small children, few places are this close to a station.

The representative, Tokyu Ota, writes that he started karate because he saw K-1 on television as a boy and wanted to be strong. He later fought professionally and has now taught karate to children for more than 25 years. That background shapes the gym: alongside adult kickboxing it runs a karate class that starts at preschool age and a K-1 Kids class for primary school pupils. His stated aim is to bring K-1 to every generation, from kids to adults.

He describes his teaching style with the children as kind and, when needed, strict, and the kids' sessions open with bows and greetings before any kicking starts. Ota's own motto for the gym is that people should first enjoy K-1, then get used to it, and finally come to love it. On a weekday evening that means a room where women training for fitness and amateurs heading for competition share the same mats and the same bags.

The pro team is busy in 2026. Kento Ito, who also coaches here, is the 9th Krush lightweight champion. In September the gym reported a second-round knockout win for DARUMA Kenta and a hard-fought victory for KONG Kosei in a bout to decide a title challenger. Chief trainer Kotetsu, who lists playing with his dog as his hobby, also appears on the roster, so beginners are often holding pads for people who fight on televised cards.

The rest of the staff widens what is on offer. Kazuki Tadasu runs kaatsu personal training, a blood-flow restriction method, for people focused on strength. Taisei Sakuraba teaches the gym's jiu-jitsu class, which is unusual for a K-1 branch. Shuhei Sato says on the staff page that his hobby is touring ramen shops and that members can ask him about any ramen around Kamata, which tells you something about the friendly tone of the place.

Normally the joining fee is ¥22,000 and the registration fee ¥3,300, both including tax. The men's plan is ¥14,300 a month, or ¥11,980 if you train four times a month. Women pay ¥11,980, or ¥9,900 for four visits a month. Junior high and high school students pay ¥11,980, and children from the final year of kindergarten through primary school pay ¥9,900. During the October 2026 campaign, the joining fee, registration fee and first month are all ¥0.

Personal training is ¥6,000 a session. A rental locker costs ¥1,650 a month, and the rental service for training wear is ¥2,200 a month, useful if you come straight from the office. Payment is by credit card or bank card, and the gym says all major cards are accepted. When joining you pay two months in advance and bring official ID; anyone at high school or younger must come with a parent.

Kamata's opening times vary more than most. On Monday and Wednesday the gym opens at 14:00 and closes at 22:00. On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday it opens at 12:00 and also runs until 22:00. Saturday hours are 12:00 to 19:00, and Sundays and public holidays are 12:00 to 17:00. Lunchtime trainers should avoid Monday and Wednesday, and Saturday is short, so plan an afternoon visit that day.

Visitors can drop in to watch at any time during opening hours without an appointment, except during the pro class, when nobody may watch or train. You can join or leave any class partway through. Leaving the gym is handled by the 5th of each month: tell the gym by then and your membership ends at the end of that month; after the 5th it runs to the end of the following month.

The trial is free and booked by phone or email, and the gym says booking ahead makes it go smoothly. A trainer asks about your goals first. The example menu starts with stretching and hand-wrapping, then shadowboxing to learn basic punches and kicks, followed by sandbag work, mitt drills with a trainer and a cool-down. The gym promises no pushy sales talk afterwards. The kit list is short: loose sportswear, your own towel and something to drink.

Training is barefoot, so no shoes are needed, and there is a foot-washing area in the gym, a detail regulars appreciate when the mats are busy. A vending machine covers drinks if you forget one, and rental wear is available. In September 2026 the gym also posted a notice about hygiene rules for members, part of its effort to keep a crowded floor clean.

Families get the most out of Kamata, because a single gym covers preschool karate, K-1 Kids and adult classes, and the women's four-a-month plan at ¥9,900 is one of the cheaper ways into K-1 training in Tokyo. If you want a later Saturday or longer Sunday, look elsewhere: Kamata closes at 19:00 and 17:00 on those days.

The obvious alternative is K-1 Gym Gotanda, at the other end of the Tokyu Ikegami Line, which runs directly between Kamata and Gotanda. It stays open until 20:00 on Saturdays and 18:00 on Sundays, and its men's plan is ¥13,200 a month. Choose Kamata if you have children who want to train, if you care about jiu-jitsu, or if you live along the Keihin-Tohoku or Tokyu lines that meet here.

Kamata is famous in Tokyo for hanetsuki gyoza, dumplings fried with a thin, crisp lattice joining them together, and the streets around both exits are lined with gyoza restaurants, which makes for a filling reward after a hard session. The area is also known for its black-water hot springs: Kamata Onsen and other local bathhouses draw dark, mineral-tinted water that tired muscles welcome after an hour of kicking.

On the west side of the station, the roof of Tokyu Plaza Kamata has a small Ferris wheel that has become a local landmark, and it is a quick detour with children after a kids' class. The east exit, where the gym is, has a plaza and the main bus terminal, so regulars who come from further into Ota Ward often finish with a bus ride home.

Address: K-1 Gym Kamata, 24th Shimokawa Building 3F, 5-18-5 Kamata, Ota-ku, Tokyo 144-0052. Phone: 03-6424-5294. Access: one minute from JR Kamata Station east exit. Hours: Monday and Wednesday 14:00 to 22:00, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 12:00 to 22:00, Saturday 12:00 to 19:00, Sundays and holidays 12:00 to 17:00. Men ¥14,300 a month, women ¥11,980; personal training ¥6,000. Free trials by phone or email. Train barefoot.