Pole Fitness Near Me in Akasaka: Pole Dance Tokyo's Basement Studios

Pole Dance Tokyo sits one floor below street level at 3-16-8 Akasaka, Minato-ku, in the basement of the Tokai Annex Building, three minutes on foot from Exit 10 of Akasaka-mitsuke Station or Exit 1 of Akasaka Station. A first lesson costs ¥2,500 including tax if you live in Japan and ¥6,000 if you are visiting from abroad, and every class has to be booked online. For anyone typing pole fitness near me in Akasaka, it is the studio with the longest history in the neighbourhood.

The studio says it opened in 2005 and describes itself as Japan's first school devoted to pole and aerial dance. Its owner, Lu Nagata, brought pole dancing over from New York as a new kind of fitness class, and the homepage now celebrates the studio's 21st year. The corridor walls carry photos of instructors' stage work and of celebrities who have used the rooms for shoots.

The teaching roster mixes competition and stage performers. Alongside Lu, the website lists pole instructors such as Sayaka, Chihiro, AIRA and Kei, Azu for aerial tissue, NoN for contortion, and Mai Sato, an aerial performer with Cirque du Soleil. The studio says every instructor has passed its own teacher-training course and exam before taking a class.

Space is the main selling point. There are two studios: the larger A studio, right inside the entrance, with red and blue lighting that changes the mood of a class, and the smaller B studio further in. Between them the school counts 15 poles, which it calls the largest number in Japan, plus seven aerial fixtures, so nobody shares a pole during a lesson.

The ceiling is four metres high, which matters once you start climbing. The changing room holds four or five people at a time and has lockers with keys, and there is a shower. It is free for members and first-time trial students, ¥500 for visitors, and you need to bring your own towel or buy one for ¥550.

Complete beginners should book a Level 1, Level 1 & 2 or all-levels class; the beginners page says those are designed for people with no sport or dance background. The student base runs from children up to people in their sixties, and the school is blunt that you do not need to lose weight or be flexible first, because every class includes a long stretch.

Pole is only part of the timetable. The studio also teaches chair dance, aerial tissue, aerial hoop, flexibility and contortion, so a friend who would rather try silks can book the same evening. If you are tempted to go straight into a Level 2 class, note that the cheap first-lesson rate only applies to the beginner levels.

Cancellations are strict. From 24 hours before a class, the full fee is charged, and after that point the online system will not let you cancel at all, so plan your week before booking. Private lessons and studio rental use a different rule: half the fee two days before, and the full fee the day before or on the day.

If you forget kit, the front desk rents heels for ¥880, knee pads for ¥660, and a top or bottoms for ¥550 each, or a full set for ¥1,000. Pole grip such as PD9 sells for ¥1,300. Watching a class is free the first time and does not need a booking, but lessons are sometimes cancelled or covered at short notice.

Joining costs ¥16,500, plus a ¥3,300 administration fee and ¥1,650 a year for sports-injury insurance. Adult monthly plans start at ¥9,200 for two classes and run to ¥54,000 for fifteen, or ¥3,600 a lesson at the top tier, and unused classes carry over for as long as you stay on a monthly plan. Spot members who have joined but pay per class pay ¥5,500.

Visitors who never join pay ¥6,000 a class or ¥16,500 for a three-class ticket valid for a month, which suits short stays in Tokyo. Our honest view: if you will come only once or twice, skip the joining fee and buy the visitor ticket. The studio also advertises that joining on the day of your trial can cut the joining fee to as little as zero.

Once you are hooked, open practice lets you train alone for an hour. Members pay ¥2,200 for an hour of open pole and visitors pay ¥3,000; an hour of open aerial is ¥2,650 for members. Some open slots run without staff, and in those hours anyone training on silks or hoop must bring their own carabiner.

One-on-one private lessons cost ¥16,500 an hour for members and ¥19,800 for visitors, and groups of friends can book a private class for a birthday, priced at ¥22,000 for two people and ¥62,400 for twelve. Lessons can be taught in English, Japanese or Italian. Children aged three to sixteen have their own monthly rates, from ¥8,000 for two classes.

Students perform several times a year, and the next show is the Halloween party on Saturday 24 October 2026 at GYOEN ROSSO 198, a basement venue at 1-19-8 Shinjuku near Exit 2 of Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station. Doors open at 6:45pm, the show starts at 7:15pm and runs until 8:45pm, and there is a costume contest for the audience as well as the dancers.

Advance tickets cost ¥4,500 and door tickets ¥5,500, with free seating. The studio warns that if advance tickets sell out there will be no door sales, so buy early. The summer show in July was held at Silk Road Cafe, which gives a sense of how often members get a stage.

The walk from Akasaka-mitsuke runs past a karaoke building and drugstores, then along a street with a post office and an APA hotel, before you turn between two small restaurants, Trimaran Akasaka and Maruichi Fuji, into the lane where the studio sign hangs. Drivers can use the hotel car park on Hitotsugi-dori or a Times car park behind the studio.

Akasaka is an office district, so evening classes fill with people coming straight from work, and the rental kit means you can arrive empty-handed. Hitotsugi-dori is lined with izakaya for a late dinner afterwards. If Akasaka classes are full, POWER SPOT AOYAMA TOKYO in Minami-Aoyama is a short train ride away.

Address: Pole Dance Tokyo, Tokai Annex Building B1, 3-16-8 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052. Phone: 03-5941-8998. Three minutes from Akasaka-mitsuke Station Exit 10 or Akasaka Station Exit 1. First lesson ¥2,500 for Japan residents, ¥6,000 for overseas visitors. Visitor class ¥6,000. Joining fee ¥16,500. Monthly plans from ¥9,200. All prices include tax. Book every class online.