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Learning jiu-jitsu in Tokyo

Tokyo is where jiu-jitsu first took root in Japan, and it is far too big for one guide. We cover it area by area. Each area gets the same treatment: verified facts per academy, no rankings, and the evidence behind every claim.

What a first visit costs in Tokyo

Of the 91 academies this guide covers, 53 print a free first class with no condition, 5 a free one with a condition, 13 print a price for it, 15 say to book and find out, 3 publish enrolment or enquiry details without a trial offer, and 2 have no readable first-visit terms.

The printed first-visit prices run from ¥300 (≈ $1.9) to ¥4,000 (≈ $26), for example:

  • Poronitay BJJ (ポロニタイ): ¥300 (≈ $1.9) (Reserve a session through the contact form or the X account, where the dates and venue are announced; the fee is 300 yen per person per session towards the venue, observation-only visits are declined, and blue belts and up drop in by introduction)
  • Physical Space Jiu-Jitsu Academy (フィジカルスペース柔術アカデミー): ¥500 (≈ $3.2) (A 500-yen one-coin trial into the beginners class, booked through the web form; observation now sits under the same 500-yen heading, so the old free-anytime line is gone)
  • Japan Top Team (JTT): ¥4,000 (≈ $26) (A trial class at 4,000 yen, one per person (kids free), gear lent free, booked by form; jiu-jitsu trials route through the Tri-Force Akasaka reservation page)

63 academies print a standard adult monthly rate: the median is ¥13,200 (≈ $84), the lowest ¥4,400 (≈ $28), the highest ¥39,600 (≈ $253).

The median printed drop-in is ¥3,000 (≈ $19.2), from 14 academies.

Conditions the pages state

Ask before you go

  • Is the first class free for a visitor, or only for someone who intends to join?
  • Is a gi lent for the first class, and what does one cost to buy?
  • What does a month cost without a contract, and is there a joining fee?

Figures from version 2026-09-05 of the first-visit study; the study explains the method and links to the academy sources. The first-visit study, city by city · What jiu-jitsu costs per month · the printable first-visit kit

The areas

  • Shibuya and Harajuku 13 academies

    Shibuya, Harajuku, and Yoyogi: Carpe Diem, Bonsai, and the youth heart of the city.

  • Shinjuku and Ikebukuro 18 academies

    Shinjuku, Takadanobaba, and Ikebukuro, home to the Tri-Force and Paraestra Ikebukuro head rooms.

  • Minato and central Tokyo 17 academies

    Aoyama, Akasaka, Roppongi, and the Kanda cluster, including Carpe Diem's headquarters.

  • Eastern Tokyo 14 academies

    The shitamachi east: Asakusa, Kinshicho, Fukagawa, and the river wards.

  • Southern Tokyo 27 academies

    Shinagawa, Ota, and Setagaya, including the Axis headquarters of the Rickson Gracie line.

  • Nerima and Suginami 12 academies

    The heartland of Japanese jiu-jitsu: Yuki Nakai's Paraestra Tokyo trains here.

  • Western Chuo line 15 academies

    Kichijoji, Chofu, Tachikawa, out to Hachioji: one train line ending at the mountains.

Open mats in Tokyo

Rooms whose published schedule prints an open mat, each with the complete recorded summary of that schedule, its source and the date it was read. What an open mat is, and what a beginner does with one

Shinjuku and Ikebukuro

  • Imanari Jiu-Jitsu Academy Weekday mornings run 6:30 no-gi grappling and 7:40 sparring taught by Imanari himself; beginner classes at 10:00 on three weekdays; Monday evening basics with an open mat; a members-only leg-lock basics class Tuesday evening; gi classes Saturday and Sunday mornings. Imanari teaches the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturdays, Jonathan the 2nd and 4th source · 2026-09-01

Eastern Tokyo

  • matroom tokyo, Asakusa A published class menu: a white-belt beginner class, a 60-minute basic class, all-level and no-gi classes each with an hour of open mat, a blue-belt-and-up competition class, privates, and visitor slots; a trial may join the beginner, basic or all-level class (basic recommended); exact weekly times live in the booking system source · 2026-09-03

Southern Tokyo

  • Tri-Force Gotanda (トライフォース五反田) The published weekly grid spans jiu-jitsu (intro, basic, regular, advanced, master and competition cells), no-gi Mon 11 AM, Tue 6:15 PM and Fri 7:30 PM, judo Wed 6:30 PM, parent-and-child Sat 11 AM and Sun 9:30 AM, and kids Wed/Fri 4:15 PM; beginner cells Mon 6:15 PM, Tue/Thu 11 AM and 12 PM, Sat 12 PM and Sun 12 PM; weekday evenings run a 7:30 PM class, open mat 8:45 PM and a 9:15 PM late class; the yoga and seniors' rehab classes of the July read are no longer on the grid; closed on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month source · 2026-09-03

Nerima and Suginami

  • Strong Spirit Jiu-Jitsu, Koenji (main dojo) The Koenji grid is now page text: 60-minute basic gi classes with no sparring Mon 9:15 PM, Tue and Wed 10:15 AM (those two morning classes are white and blue belts only) and Fri 7:30 PM, basic no-gi Thu 7:30 PM, 90-minute jiu-jitsu classes Tue 9:15 PM, Fri 8:45 PM and Sun 11:15 AM, no-gi Thu 8:45 PM, kids Sun 10:15 AM, closed Saturday; an open mat follows most classes except Thursdays source · 2026-09-03

A schedule is what the page printed on the day it was read. The academy's card carries the visitor and price facts recorded for it; where admission to an open mat, or its cost, is not published, ask the academy.

Women's classes in Tokyo

Rooms whose published schedule or programme page prints a women's or women-only class, each with the complete recorded summary of that fact, its source and the date it was read. What academies publish for women, and what to ask before a first class

Minato and central Tokyo

  • ARTA BJJ Hiroo The 2026 weekly grid across two mats (image updated Aug 31) reads: all-levels classes at 8 AM Mon/Wed/Thu/Fri, 10 AM every day but Tuesday and evenings 6:30, 8 and 9:15 PM; fundamentals for beginners Sat and Sun 11:30 AM, Wed 6:30 PM, Mon 8 PM and Thu 9:15 PM; girls' class Mon and Thu 6:30 PM; no-gi Tue 6:30 PM (Tuesday otherwise closed), Wed and Thu 8 PM, Sat 5 PM; judo Wed 6:30 PM; kids Mon and Thu 5 PM source · 2026-09-03

Nerima and Suginami

A summary records what the page printed on the day it was read. Whether a class is women-only or mixed, and who may join, is in the summary where the academy publishes it; visitor and price facts are on the academy's card; where something is not published, ask the academy.

What a first class costs, city by city: the study