Another perfect way to get some exercise while working at the desk or watching TV.

Depending on your living space and your schedule, getting an adequate amount of exercise can be pretty difficult, not to mention expensive if you want larger exercise equipment such as a treadmill. However, thanks to a new line of goods released by Japanese sports equipment company Mizuno, folks can now purchase workout goods which function as chic furniture. 

The Mizuno Healthy Interior line offers a diverse array of furniture, from stools to even ottomans. While at first glance, these minimalistic products look like stylish pieces of furniture, in reality, they’re each incorporated with a special feature that enables a wide variety of workouts.

For example, the Le Coeur is both a coffee table as well as a way to limber up your shoulder muscles. When not in use, it’s a fashionable, minimalistic piece where you can leave your favorite cup of tea while reading your favorite book. However, when it’s time to get those gains, folks can use the knobs on the wooden turntable atop the Le Coeur for basic shoulder exercises and stretches.

▼ The Le Coeur available at 19,800 yen (US$181.76)

▼ Don’t forget to stretch before exercising!

If you want to continue exercising your arms after the Le Coeur, there’s also the Ballretch and the Ringretch. The Ballretch are a set of weights disguised as cushions. Each weighing 500 grams, or roughly 18 ounces, and priced at 3,080 yen (US$28.27), the Ballretch is a multifunctional weight which can be used to tone your shoulders, back, and arms.

▼ I’d hate for one of these to fall on my feet…

Similar to the Ballretch is the Ringretch, which looks more like a comfy chair cushion than anything workout-related. However, inside the Ringretch is actually an exercise ring, which allows for plenty of strength-resistance training. Alternatively, you can also use the Ringretch between your knees to exercise your thigh muscles.

▼ The Ringretch costs 6,578 yen (US$60.38).

For those who seek to tone their stomach instead, the Mizuno Healthier Interior line also has the Abs Pulule, available for 8,140 yen (US$74.72). The Abs Pulule can be used as a seat cushion, but its main workout purpose is to provide a secure sitting base for folks to flex their core muscles. Packed in urethane foam, the Abs Pulule is also great for reinforcing your sacrum, or the back of your pelvis.

Another seat offered in the novel furniture lineup is the Les Plie Squat. Compared to the Abs Pulule, the Les Plie Squat is more pricey at 15,180 yen (US$139.35) and seems like your typical office stool, but its exercise function is to help with squats. The Les Plie Squat’s central bar works like a pump, moving up and down depending on the amount of pressure placed on it, giving the opportunity for resistance training. Squats can also sometimes be a little tough on the back, and with the Les Plie Squat, you can get some cushion support while still working your glutes.

Last but certainly not least, folks who want to work on their legs get the option of Le Moignon. Moonlighting as an ottoman, the Le Moignon has three exercise options. You can either lift it up as a weight with your feet to work out your calves, slip your feet into its resistant band on the sides and pull to exercise your thigh muscles, or even make your toes more limber by flexing them against the resistant band.

▼ Your entire leg workout for just 9,790 yen (US$89.87).

With a minimalistic design and providing different ways to workout, Mizuno Healthy Interior’s new furniture line is a great addition to any apartment and/or exercise routine. You can purchase furniture pieces from Mizuno’s online shop here. And if your home is leaning more towards a kawaii aesthetic, the same company’s got you covered with Rilakkuma-themed cushion-weights.

Source, images: Mizuno Training Goods
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Nintendo star and TAG Heuer want you to think of the step counter like a power-up system.

Mario has to have a jam-packed schedule, right? Between saving princesses, collecting stars, racing go-karts, playing golf and tennis, and his on-and-off plumbing career, the Nintendo mascot no doubt plans his days down to the minute.

And if you’ve also got a need to be on time, TAG Heuer now has a Super Mario smartwatch for you.

It’s part of the Swiss watchmaker’s Connected series, but TAG Heuer says it isn’t partnering with Mario because of his punctuality so much as his physical activity lifestyle. Wanting to add a fun, game-like element to the watch’s wellness functionality, the candidate that immediately came to mind was Mario, who TAG Heuer describes as “a super-active character whose toughness and determination gets him through any challenge.”

With an all-digital face, the watch can be reconfigured into one of five different Mario motifs, including one that’s a throwback to the original Super Mario Bros.’ 8-bit pixel art…

…and another that’s a more subtle nod to the series with a scatterin of mushrooms.

But the coolest feature is how the Nintendo character figures into the watch’s pedometer. After setting your target number of steps for the day, you’re rewarded with animated sequences for hitting milestones along the way!

At 25 percent, Mario powers up and grows larger with a Super Mushroom. He pops out of a Warp Pipe at 50, goes into invincible mode at 75, and once you reach your goal for the day, Mario does too by hopping onto one his games’ level-ending flagpoles.

▼ The watch’s preview video

You also get some nice analog touches, like the stylized Mario M on the dial and clasp.

The Super Mario TAG Heuer Connected is limited to a run of 2,000 units, priced at 253,000 yen (US$2,300), and offered through the company’s online store and its Japanese physical locations in Tokyo’s Ginza, and Omotesando neighborhoods, as well as Kawasaki’s La Zona and Osaka’s Shinsaibashi.

Source: PR Times
Top image: TAG Heuer
Insert images: PR Times, TAG Heuer (1, 2)
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Otaku event is returning as public health improves, but personal health is important too.

For 44 solid years, no matter what else was going on in the world, otaku could count on Comiket taking place. After starting in 1975, Japan’s largest gathering of self-published dojinshi manga creators grew exponentially in popularity, eventually evolving into its modern form of a three-day, twice-a-year event held in August and December.

The chain of otaku memories was broken, though, in 2020, with the coronavirus-caused cancellation of what would have been Comiket 98. Since then, Comiket’s next iteration has been repeatedly postponed, but in August the event’s organizers announced that Comiket 99 will take place on December 30 and 31, barring any worsening of public health conditions.

With infection numbers decreasing in Japan, it looks like Comiket really will return this winter, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. At the same time, the organizers have some advice for otaku: it’s time for them to rise from the couch and get some exercise.

中の人も同じことを思っており、ウォーキングをしております。
「『2年ぶりのコミケ、体力が衰えててやばいかも！』イベント参加で危機感を覚えた人多数→早めにトレーニングを始めよう」https://t.co/1lw9Zxgv2V

— コミックマーケット準備会 (@comiketofficial) October 27, 2021

Comiket takes up several halls at the sprawling Tokyo Big Sight convention center, and the focus on small independent creator circles selling wares in very limited quantities means fans have to cover a lot of ground very quickly to get the most out of their time at the convention. But with a two-year gap since the last Comiket, and dozens of smaller regional anime events also cancelled during the pandemic, plus the safety impetus of living a stay-home lifestyle during that time, a lot of otaku have been leading an especially sedentary existence since the winter 2019 Comiket. The announcement that Comiket is coming back this December led one hopeful participant on Japanese website Togetter to comment that participants and staff might want to start getting in some regular exercise, and the official Comiket Twitter account agrees, tweeting:

“’In the two years since the last Comiket, some of us have probably gotten really out of shape! For a lot of people, it might even be dangerous for them to participate in their current state, so let’s start getting some exercise!’

Some of us on the Comiket Preparatory Committee feel the same way, so we’ve started going for longer walks for exercise.”

Commenters could see the logic behind the advice, even though some of them didn’t necessarily need to be told.

“Yeah, I seriously need to build up my stamina.”
“It’s crazy how much walking you end up doing at Comiket.”
“Honestly, I don’t think I could make it through Day 1 right now.”
“No problems here. I’ve been getting tons of steps in playing Dragon Quest Walk.”
“I’m actually in better shape than I was before, thanks to Ring Fit Adventure.”

And for any otaku who needs some music for their workout playlist, this should be a good choice to start with.

Source: Twitter/@comiketofficial via Otakomu, Togetter
Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
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Mr. Sato shares an important lesson he learned about age and personal resolutions.

December 13 is a special kind of anniversary for Mr. Sato. It’s the day when he thinks, “Wow, it’s been another year.” That’s because December 13, five years ago, was when Mr. Sato took his first step inside a pole dancing studio. It was half on a joke, but one day turned into one year, and then two years, and now all of a sudden it’s been five years since he started pole dancing. Even he is surprised!

His pole dancing adventures started out as merely an exploration into exercise and movement, but it slowly became a part of his everyday life, and these days he goes to the pole dancing studio about three times a week. He started when he was 43 years old, and now he’s 48, and 50 is within his sights. Yet Mr. Sato can say that despite his age, he feels like he can do a lot more growing and can see a lot more possibilities for himself than he ever did before.

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A post shared by Hidenori Satou (@hidenori_satou)

Mr. Sato has been candid with his pole-dancing experiences, and after five years, he believes he has some wisdom to impart. So, dear readers, here is what he would like to share with you from his experience as a 40-something-year-old pole dancer:

Learning to Grow at 48
By Mr. Sato

Last year, I thought it was the end of pole dancing for me. I hurt my shoulder, so I went to an orthopedic clinic and I was diagnosed with periarthritis of the right shoulder, which is an inflammation of the tissues around the shoulder joint, or, in other words, “the standard shoulder pain of your 40s”. It was a throbbing pain I felt every night when I got into bed.

I had to commute weekly to the hospital for rehabilitation to work on strengthening the muscles around the joint to keep it from getting worse. At the same time, I had to avoid any kind of heavy exercise. “Well, I guess I can’t hope for much,” I thought.

After 150 days of rehabilitation, the pain went away, but since my physical habits were one cause of the pain, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it came back one day. But still, I decided to continue pole dancing, focusing on small improvements instead of big gains. That way, I could keep doing it for a long time. That would be enough for me.

So I kept up my three-times-per-week practice sessions, which had basically become a part of my daily life before my injury. And, just like how snow can quietly pile up which each and every snowflake, I realized that I had been gaining lots of strength through steady, gentle practice. Suddenly I noticed that the skills and movements I didn’t think I could do before were ever so slowly becoming possible. For example, I never thought I’d be able to try doing the “Phoenix” again, a move where you raise your legs while doing a reverse spin. It had been one of the causes of my injury. But to my surprise, I recently managed to do it!

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A post shared by Hidenori Satou (@hidenori_satou)

Where I had been a complete novice before, I now can even transfer strength into my hands and feet. When I looked back on the videos I recorded of myself, I could tell how much cleaner my skills had become.

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A post shared by Hidenori Satou (@hidenori_satou)

I can even challenge myself with the more acrobatic moves that I was too afraid to try before! Somehow my gentle training has helped me reach a level where I can do so many more skills. It turns out I’ve actually improved a lot!

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A post shared by Hidenori Satou (@hidenori_satou)

It might sound like an exaggeration, but I truly thought last year was the end. I thought I might as well just face the fact that I’m old, that I should just take the downhill track slowly from here, being careful not to hurt myself along the way. But my body, steadily strengthened in small ways, had other ideas. “What?” it seemed to say. “Stop talking like an old grandpa. We’ve still got lots to do.”

Well, that may be true, but I still can’t be reckless. If I hurt myself again, I could lose more than pole dancing.

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A post shared by Hidenori Satou (@hidenori_satou)

Earlier this month the comedy duo Nishiki-goi won the top prize in the M-1 Grand-Prix 2021, a manzai comedy competition. They’re the oldest duo ever to win, and they’re about the same age as I am. It was nice to see them leave the younger groups in the dust. They gave me the courage to decide never to let age be the reason to quit something.

Even if you don’t get major results, even if nobody praises you, do the things you want to do. Just make sure you walk your path with determination. Don’t give up if you fail a few times; keep going. Because if you do, you should be able to grow and see new possibilities for yourself.

Don’t wait for next year. Start now.

—-

Check out how much Mr. Sato’s skill at pole dancing has grown with his most recent pole dancing performance to “Ossan (Middle-aged guy)” by Taiiku Okazaki. He may not need anyone’s praise, but he deserves it nonetheless, don’t you think?

You can compare this performance to his first performance, just eight months after starting pole dancing. At the very least, you can see he has much more joy and confidence as he dances, which is something he learned from pole dancing last year. Maybe you can find inspiration from his story to try something you’ve been wanting to try, too!

Images © SoraNews24
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And they come in six different colors!

Geta are a type of traditional Japanese sandal typically worn with yukata. Though they come in many fashionable designs these days, traditional geta are made with a wood base for the foot and thongs made of fabric. But the most fascinating kind of the geta are the ones that have “teeth” underneath the wooden sole. Usually two or three of these strips of wood elevate the sandal off the ground, though they can make walking a little tricky and in some cases painful if wearing them incorrectly.

Because they require a special way of walking, some people think geta are a great tool for health and beauty. They say wearing geta can help improve posture and build strength in the core and in the legs, which is why they’re even used by Olympic figure skaters for training. Some geta makers even take this to the extreme to make geta designed for health, like these single-toothed geta called “Fraing.”

According to the designers, there are multiple benefits with the Fraing geta. First, they say you can easily feel how they’re helping you improve. Initially, you may have trouble merely standing still in these geta, but the more you wear them, the better you’ll get at walking in them, so you can naturally see your progression.

Second, because these geta require a lot of concentration to stand in, never mind walk in, the design team says that wearing them regularly helps foster healthy habits that improve your posture and sense of balance as well as train your core and leg muscles.

The designers promise that Fraing sandals are very comfortable too. Like most geta, they’re designed so that your little toe and your heel both hang slightly off the ends of the sandal. This is the correct way to wear geta to keep from getting blisters, and Fraing geta are to be worn the same. Plus, the Fraing geta straps are placed specifically to help prevent any constriction on the feet and toes.

The thongs themselves are made of cotton and smoothed suede. The suede (the darker colored material in the photo below) makes up the thong and the bottom of the straps, making for a delightfully smooth and soft feel, with no chafing or rubbing.

The Fraing geta are made in Ehime Prefeture’s Ozu City by Nagahama Mokuri, a long-established wooden footwear maker whose artisans use their expertise to create sandals directly from unprocessed lumber from sustainable cypress and cedar sources.

The thongs are also colored with environmentally friendly, naturally derived dyes. Unlike yukata geta which typically have straps decorated with traditional patterns, these geta have a nice, neutral, casual look, so you can feel comfortable putting them on any time you’re going for a walk. They also come in six colors–blue, black, green, orange, pink, and red–giving you plenty of options to match to your wardrobe.

The sandals have two different kinds of soles made by Italian sole-maker Vibram, which are often used in climbing shoes and boots because of their grip and durability. Once you get the hang of walking in them, you won’t ever have to worry about slipping.

The Fraing geta are currently being funded by a crowdfunding campaign on Makuake, where they have achieved 933 percent of their original goal. Options are still available to pledge your support and buy the geta at a discounted rate of up to 40 percent off, but once the funding is over on April 4, they’ll be sold for the retail price of 12,000 yen per pair (US$104).

And if you’re looking for a nice outfit to go with your stylish new geta, these crowdfunded hakama roomwear are just about perfect.

Source: Makuake via Japaaan
Images: Makuake
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Radio calisthenics to encourage fitness are making a comeback with the help of a perpetually popular Pokémon.

Radio calisthenics, known as rajio taiso in Japanese, are sometimes used as warm-ups at schoolwide events or in workplaces. They’re not as common as they used to be, but they do make for some good stretching and getting the body warm for a busy day of movement.

Japan Post Insurance is a longtime supporter of radio calisthenics. To help promote the exercises, which can be easily done at home in the midst of a pandemic, the company has partnered with popular Pokémon ambassador Lucario.

▼ Lookin’ sharp with that red headband, Lucario

Lucario is a Fighting/Steel-type Pokémon with the abilities Steadfast or Inner Focus–two appropriate skills for schoolchildren to also cultivate over time.

Speaking of schools, a video of Lucario’s ambassadorial inauguration ceremony and a calisthenics demonstration at Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School in Tokyo has been posted to YouTube by Japan Post Insurance’s official Radio Calisthenics Channel.

Watch Lucario get into the action and try a few of the stretches yourself!

To help spread the love even more, Lucario will conduct school visits, participate in the award ceremony for the 9th National Elementary School Radio Calisthenics Contest over the summer, and feature in a radio calisthenics participation card to encourage regular fitness.

▼ Participation card

If you’re interested in seeing more of what Lucario gets up to around Japan, check out last year’s Pokéfuta dedication ceremony in Okayama Prefecture.

Source, images: PR Times
Featured image: YouTube/ラジオ体操チャンネル【かんぽ生命公式】
Insert images: PR Times
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The real treasure was the delts we blasted along the way.

Reading manga and watching anime are both excellent ways to spend your free time, as they’re both outstanding sources of entertainment and inspiration. A major drawback, though, is that they’re both sedimentary hobbies.

So for looking to get not just their daily otaku dopamine dose but also some exercise, there’s a One Piece gym that’s going to be opening in Japan.

The facility will be called One Piece Fitness BragMen, taking the last part of its name from One Piece’s in-universe tome of adventure tales. As shown in these artist renders, BragMen will take its interior styling cues from One Piece’s nautical fantasy aesthetic, and that theme carries over to the staff uniforms as well, as on-site trainers and instructors “dressed as pirates” will be waiting to help you meet your fitness goals, according to the gym’s website.

BragMen will also offer exclusive exercise programs based on the One Piece world, and it even adapts some video game play mechanics to help keep customer motivation levels up. Visiting the gym for a workout earns you points that can be exchanged for prizes, similar to a log-in bonus, and members will also have a “pirate rank” that they can raise by clearing objectives such as achieving a target muscle mass body fat percentage.

▼ The staff’s pirate uniforms haven’t been revealed yet, but they might look like the garb Luffy is wearing here, though ostensibly with close-toed shoes instead of sandals.

【特報】#ONEPIECE をモチーフにしたフィットネスジムが2023年初頭東京都渋谷区にオープン決定

その名も『ONE PIECE FITNESS BragMen』

まずは海軍に扮するトレーナーを募集！
年齢＆体型＆すべて不問です！

くわしくはこちらhttps://t.co/aTCaBztuNq pic.twitter.com/Nl31qgD0SS

— ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) May 15, 2022

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that BragMen isn’t just some preexisting gym that’s going to be taken over by some One Piece theming for a limited-time promotion, but a permanent, full-fledged fitness club (they’ll even offer sports programs for kids). The gym is scheduled to open in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood early next year, but they’re already recruiting trainers, and if you want to join their pirate crew applications can be made online here.

Source: One Piece Fitness BragMen via Hachima Kiko
Images: One Piece Fitness BragMen
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Mr. Sato proves it’s never too late to be living your best life.

As regular readers of our site will know, our ace reporter Mr. Sato is the head of SoraNews24’s Department of Craziness. It’s a role he’s particularly well-suited for, but also one that often requires him to look, well, peculiar.

▼ Just four typical days at work for Mr. Sato

However, there’s also another side to Mr. Sato, that we like to call “Serious Sato.” He’s actually a rather deep-thinking individual at times, like when he’s reflecting on all his dad has done for him in life, or when he’s journeying halfway across the country to say sorry for something he did more than a decade ago.

But there’s at least one more side to Mr. Sato, because in addition to Crazy Sato and Serious Sato, there’s also…Sexy Sato.

Before we get to the steamy evidence, let’s go back a few years, to the year 2009, when Mr. Sato had just joined the SoraNews24 team. He was a fresh-faced, hungry writer, and he put that hunger to use pursuing journalistic excellence in ways such as eating a hamburger with 1,050 bacon strips, eating another hamburger with 1,000 slices of cheese, and eating yet another burger with 100 slices of grilled onion.

Good times…but also greasy times. In time, all those calorific meals started to catch up with Mr. Sato, and seven years into the job he’d gained 20 kilograms (44 pounds).

▼ Mr. Sato in 2016

So in the winter of 2016, Mr. Sato made a life-changing decision and started going to pole dancing lessons. Some might say it’s a fittingly unique choice for a guy who’s got no fear of the unusual, and he’s kept with the program, attending workouts three times a week for five years and counting.

As a result, Mr. Sato, now at the age of 48, is currently in the best shape he’s ever been in in his entire life, losing 13 kilograms of chub while tightening and toning his physique. So to celebrate all that, he recently treated himself to a gravure-style photo shoot.

For his venue, he selected Ecolo, a “photo studio house” in the suburbs of Tokyo’s Ota Ward. He wasn’t going there to snap some selfies, though, and instead hired a team of professionals to really help him look his best.

▼ From left to right: Videographer Tezuka, photographer Naoko Tachibana, and makeup artist Kishico

Mr. Sato’s photo shoot was a three-hour session, including all preparation and cleanup work. That’s actually a pretty tight schedule, but his team swiftly sprang into action.

So how did his photos turn out?

Yeah, pretty incredible.

▼ Same guy

We get so used to Mr. Sato manically mugging for the camera when the job calls for it that it’s easy to forget that he’s actually a rather handsome dude when he’s not pushing his facial muscles to the breaking point.

Actually Mr. Sato had long wanted to do a photo shoot like his, but it wasn’t until recently that he had anything even close to confidence in his body. To be honest, he’s still too humble to call himself cut, ripped, or any other term for muscularly macho, but with his photo shoot team’s help, he felt comfortable going shirtless…

…and even pantsless.

We should emphasize that Mr. Sato didn’t start pole dancing with the eventual goal of doing a gravure photo shoot. He hasn’t been working himself to collapse during his dance sessions either. He simply found a fitness activity he liked, and has stayed committed to making it a regular part of his lifestyle.

It’s not like he’s finished with pole dancing, either, as he intends to keep doing it for as long as he can. “You only go around one time in this life, so if there’s something you’re thinking about trying, and there’s no reason not to do it, then you should give it a shot,” he says. “To anyone who finds themselves thinking, ‘I want to get in shape, but it’s impossible,’ if you keep trying, little by little, you’ll make progress,” he adds. “So don’t give up. Challenge yourself, and if after you start one method you feel like it’s not for you, you can always stop and try another. Don’t avoid the things you want to try just because you’re not sure, right now, if you’ll be able to succeed.”

Wise words from the combined minds of Serious Sato and Sexy Sato.

Related: Ecolo, Naoko Tachibana, Kishico
Photos © SoraNews24
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Improve your game 500 steps at a time.

I think soccer is a great sport, but I never really got into it, what with my lack of athleticism, physical fitness, coordination, team spirit, and competitiveness. My aversion to sunlight didn’t help either, but a new take on football is in the works that addresses at least a few of my issues.

It’s called 500-Step Soccer, and as you can probably guess from the name, it’s essentially soccer with the caveat that each player can only take 500 steps before they are removed from play.

Every one of the five players on each team is fitted with a pedometer that measures steps, counting down from 500. In the event a player runs, a quick dash can cause the meter to shoot down by five to 10 steps at once. However, if you stop moving for four seconds, you can recover one step for each second after that you remain motionless.

An additional variation is that whichever team kicks the ball out of bounds is the one that gets possession. Presumably because they need to spend steps in order to go and pick it up.

These limitations level the playing field for players of different abilities so that physically stronger players can’t just run circles around everyone else. It also adds a whole other dimension of strategy and cooperation to the game as teams must consider their available steps properly in order to keep everyone in play.

500-Step Soccer is a collaborative effort by sportswear giant Mizuno and the World Yuru Sports Association, a group whose goal is to develop sports with an emphasis on fun and inclusiveness. They already have dozens of sports aimed at everyone form the senior-oriented Kotatsu Hockey to Hand Soap Ball, which is suitable for all, because everyone sucks at it when their hands are covered in liquid soap.

▼ Hand Soap Ball

500-Step Soccer has been in development since 2019 and trial events are still being held to fine tune it before they begin a full-scale promotional push. One such event recently took place on 24 July in Osaka at the Yoshimoto Sports Festival ’22 held by the legendary comedy talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo.

▼ It’s unclear whether the fuzzy blue ball will be the official design or not

They are also soliciting ideas for future “step” sports in the form of an Idea Contest held by Mizuno. Ideas can be submitted in any form that fits on one sheet of A3 size paper or one PowerPoint slide, but only one per person. If you want to do some personal experiments to develop your sport, or just play some 500-Step Soccer on your own, Mizuno released the official pedometer app on the App Store.

▼ Promotional banner for the Idea Contest

Entries will be accepted until 31 October and winners will be declared following a through evaluation. It’s not clear what the prizes will be, whether its merely a certificate or – dare we dream – some actual Mizuno gear. I’ll let you know as soon as I win for my idea of 0-Step Golf, which is effectively not playing golf.

Source: World Yuru Sports Association, PR Times
Images: PR Times
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And then we brought it to the office for everyone to test out!

Sitting at a desk in the same position all day is bad for your circulation and can cause fatigue, which is why our Japanese-language reporter and low-rated-product tester Masanuki Sunakoma has been on the lookout for something he could use for a quick, refreshing exercise session during work breaks. Finally, just the other day, he spotted what could be the perfect product on Amazon, and what’s more, it was only 800 yen (US$5.63)!

It was called the “Bi Balance Kotsuban Nejirunba (Beauty Balance Pelvis Twisting Rumba)”, and like many of Masanuki’s Amazon purchases lately, it had a measly one-star rating. But the description said it offered a “new and exciting twisting exercise as seen on TV,” and it came recommended for people who are watching their figures but don’t have time to exercise.

Well, that sounded pretty good for what Masanuki needed, so he decided to buy it.

The box that it came in was pretty stylish, with “NEJIRUNBA” printed in capital letters in the middle of the box. It looked like something you’d see for sale in a department store. No wonder it was featured on TV!

Although…Masanuki had to wonder about the effectiveness of marketing something “as seen on TV” these days. In today’s day and age, people aren’t watching nearly as much TV as they used to. And besides, that always makes him think of ’90s-era exercise videos, like Billy’s Boot Camp, which is clearly very different from this.

After a quick Google search, Masanuki learned that it actually was kind of a famous product. Known as “exercise with just one minute of twisting”, it quickly joined the ranks of popular “as seen on TV” products after just a few times on the air. This information got Masanuki excited. Even though it, for some reason, has a low rating on Amazon, it could actually end up being an excellent buy!

The mat and foot arch knobs that came out of the box were also pretty stylish. The explanation booklet says “Just by climbing on and twisting, you can adjust your pelvis and train your lower body at the same time! Let’s aim for beautiful legs and a beautiful body with this fun rhythmic exercise!”

It’s very simple to use. You simply place the foot knobs on the mat, stand on the knobs, align your arches over the tips, and twist.

The knobs are not fixed to the mat, so just stepping on them made Masanuki unstable. “Is it really safe to twist?” he wondered.  According to the user guide, it’s recommended that you hold onto something like a wall or table when you use it for the first time and that you twist slowly at first.

“Interesting,” Masanuki murmured as he began to twist. Since the wobbly knobs made it extra hard, it seemed like it might take a minute to get used to it enough to balance properly.

It wasn’t exactly fun, but Masanuki surmised it would be better than doing Billy’s Bootcamp, and at the very least, he could do it in between work sessions. So…

He brought it to the office.

The device piqued the interest of our other reporters, who all love to try out new and zany things, and before long, they were all trying it out during their work breaks.

▼ Aim for those beautiful legs!

▼ Do it for your figure!

▼ Your perfect body awaits!

Well, as it turned out, watching other people do it was way more fun than doing it yourself. Masnauki found it hilarious to watch grown men and women desperately trying to keep their balance on the swiveling knobs. Regardless of whether it’s actually effective, the sheer amount of entertainment he got out of it was well worth the 800 yen price tag.

Masanuki rates it 3 Stars: worth it for the laughs, dubious about the effectiveness. It’s way better than Amazon’s lowest-rated perpetual motion machine, anyway!

Images © SoraNews24
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You’re only as old as you feel.

Starting as an uncoordinated youth who shunned athletics, it’s nothing short of inspiring to see how our reporter Mr. Sato began pole dancing in his 40s and continuously improved his art and himself. Now, six years since starting, he received his first-ever invitation to be a guest performer.

The invitation was for the Aerial Dance Hachinohe showcase in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture. The venue was pretty far north of Mr. Sato’s apartment in Tokyo, but he was too excited by the opportunity to say no so he hopped on the bullet train and went.

On the train ride, he thought in awe that if he had told his teenage self that he would one day be asked to perform at a dance recital he never would have believed it.

Two hours and 30 minutes later, he arrived at Hachinohe Station. It was noticeably colder than Tokyo by about five degrees but his heart was racing so much he could barely feel the chill.

He made his way to Aerial Studio Hachinohe the day before the show because he was told he could attend a workshop and take some time to get used to the studio if he wanted.

Mr. Sato was blown away by how big the place was. In Tokyo, space is very limited so even the bigger studios are either really tall but narrow or really wide but with a low ceiling. This place was both tall and wide and the chance to dance in such a place totally wiped away his fatigue from the long train ride.

Even better, it had remote-controlled lighting and killer little JBL speakers that pumped out crisp bass. Mr. Sato asked his contact at the studio, Mr. Osawa, if he could get some practice in before the show. Mr. Osawa said it was OK and that he’d be heading out for the next hour or two on business, so Mr. Sato could have the whole place to himself.

Our reporter’s eyes widened at the suggestion…

▼ Mr. Sato: “Woooo Hoooo!”

Like a kid in a candy store, he made full use of the facilities and danced his heart out. And with the added benefit of privacy, he decided to really let loose and popped in the song “Kickback” by Kenshi Yonezu which is also the opening theme song for the anime Chainsaw Man.

As the rapid beat pulsed from the speakers, Mr. Sato kicked things into high gear…

▼ Mr. Sato: “GRIND, FUTURE, BEAUTIFUL STAR!”

▼ Mr. Sato: “GRIND, FUTURE, BEAUTIFUL STAR!”

▼ Mr. Sato: “GRIND, FUTURE, BEAUTIFUL STAR! GRIND, FUTURE, BEAUTIFUL STAAAAAR!”

＿人人人人人人＿

＞　Riiiiiiiiip!!!　＜

￣Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^￣

Mr. Sato’s soft-shoe was rudely interrupted by a tearing sensation in his lower right leg, accompanied by searing pain.

▼ Mr. Sato: “Argh! My leg!”

▼ Mr. Sato: “Mr. Yonezu! What have you done?!”

Mr. Sato thought that the song had been so cool that it broke his leg. However, upon more careful consideration he knew better than to blame the award-winning singer-songwriter. He was 48 and should have been more aware of his own physical limitations.

This didn’t bode well for his performance the next day, but Mr. Sato decided to take it easy for a while and keep an eye on his leg before bringing it up to the event staff.

As luck would have it, while his leg still hurt, Mr. Sato found that if he wrapped it tightly then the pain was bearable. He wrapped it in a bandage and added a leg band for further support. He wouldn’t be able to fly around at peak performance, but he was sure he could work with it.

It had been a close call, but he was able to get through the workshop and performance without a problem. In fact, watching him in action, you’d never even know he was injured.

On his way back to Tokyo, Mr. Sato contemplated this valuable lesson he learned. It’s great to keep active as you get older, but equally important to know the limitations that come with age and not get carried away.

That being said, Mr. Yonezu really should consider putting an upper-age-limit warning sticker on his songs. It’s dangerously catchy stuff.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Because sometimes you just can’t get to a dojo to train. 

“Anyone can be strong at any age!” Our Japanese language reporter Kouhey has always believed this. In fact, he’s always wanted to have the strength and the ability to defend himself and those in need, a sentiment that has only grown stronger with age.

But Kouhey, who is now in his late 40s and has no experience with any kind of combat arts, honestly can’t see himself training hard in something strenuous like boxing or mixed martial arts. Still, he didn’t want to live his life feeling like he wasn’t doing anything about his desire to become a martial artist, so to dispel those listless feelings, Kouhey decided to start practicing martial arts six months ago.

He found a dojo in the Ikebukuro neighborhood of Tokyo that he really wanted to attend, but he lives all the way out in Chiba Prefecture, to the east of Tokyo, and often works from home. Commuting to Ikebukuro on the regular would be difficult, seeing as it takes more than an hour and a half by train to get there. That’s why he opted for online training.

He’s been following a course called “Dare Tsuyo DOJOy”, which is a combination of “Anyone can be strong” and a mix of “dojo” and “joy.” It’s run by martial artist Katsunori Kikuno, a former UFC fighter and top Japanese martial artist who currently runs the Keiten Aijin martial arts competition, which greatly inspired Kouhey.

Most recently, Kikuno appeared in the first episode of a popular YouTube series produced by Japanese MMA fighter Mikura Kamakura called “Breaking Down”, which has one-minute battles between famous martial artists. In it, Kikuno took down a kickboxer who was once a sumo wrestler 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds) heavier than him in 59 seconds.

▼ One of DOJOy’s lessons

Screenshot from Dare Tsuyo DOJOy

Kikuno’s Dare Tsuyo DOJOy operates under the mindset that “anyone at any age can become a strong fighter” and bases its teachings on Okinawa Kenpo, or Okinawan-style karate. The purpose is to build technique and power without relying on physical strength or stamina, so people of all ages can practice. This greatly aligned with Kouhey’s own philosophies, so he began training with DOJOy online courses at the beginning of June. For six months, he’s been training and practicing at his own pace, and he does feel that he’s attained at least a little bit of martial technique.

▼ Here’s Kouhey practicing the Naihanchi Shodan kata in a suit. He says:
“It’s the first time I recorded myself…Any experience martial artist would scoff lol. I’ll keep training hard!”

【アラフィフの薄毛サラリーマンが、スーツで沖縄拳法空手の『ナイハンチ初段』をやってみた】

初めて自撮りしましたが、全然ダメですね……経験者から人が見たら、鼻で笑われるレベルww

鍛錬、がんばろう！ pic.twitter.com/aZdj87OWwJ

— 薄毛ライター耕平☆ロケットニュース24 (@kouhey_rocket) December 3, 2022

But without anyone to spar with, how can Kouhey know if he’s actually getting stronger? He decided to make a special trip into downtown to visit a dojo in-person to test himself at kickboxing gym “Legless Ikebukuro.”

Kouhey attended two classes: a training class and a self-defense class. Ordinarily, online trainees can’t attend these classes, but they opened these sessions for them to help assess where they are in their training. There were students of all ages in attendance, from teens to those in their 70s.

Director Kikuno himself also appeared with his bright, friendly smile.

Don’t be fooled by that refreshing smile, though; the power of his punches and kicks is incredible. The first thing they did in class was check each student’s Seisan kata, which is a basic kata often practiced first in many kinds of karate. In this form, everyone moves together as one.

Though it looks simple, it’s actually pretty hard. Studying it along with a video was definitely a completely different experience from learning with a teacher. Kikuno worked with Kouhey one-on-one to carefully correct his stance and form.

As Kouhey suspected, it’s not something you can pick up right away. He definitely needed more training.

Next, they trained in throws. What Kouhey learned was not anything like judo, but a “centripetal force throw” which doesn’t use any physical strength at all.  Kouhey learned about this in his online classes but had never tried it on a person. He had doubts about whether he could actually do it.

First, Kikuno demonstrated the move on Kouhey. You have to grab both of your opponent’s arms to throw them to the side, but not with the strength of your body. He showed them how trying to use brute force doesn’t work.

However, when Kikuna lightly stepped back and went down on one knee, his opponent (Kouhey) came down easily.

You might be thinking Kouhey just threw himself for the sake of the gif, but that’s not the case. He says you don’t even feel the strength in the move, so you don’t have the chance to fight against it. You really do just get thrown like a ragdoll.

Of course, when Kouhey tried it on Kikuno for the first time, it didn’t work quite as well.

This is where Kikuno’s attentive coaching came in. It won’t work if you think of yourself as using a trick to take down an opponent. You have to think of them as an extension of yourself as you pull yourself down. The important thing is not to try to go into it with the mindset of affecting your opponent. So with that in mind, Kouhey tried again, and…

He did it!

He actually threw a former UFC fighter! The funny thing is, he had no sense of actually throwing him; it didn’t feel like he tried. This move was seriously impressive. Having been both on the giving and receiving end, Kouhey couldn’t help admiring how cool it was.

Lastly, they tested the power of the trainees’ thrust punches.

As Kouhey said, Kikuno’s punches are insanely powerful. The proof is in the nickname given to him overseas: “Katsunori One Punch Kikuno”. The source of that power isn’t physical strength but his special technique of transferring weight through the movement of his body.

Put simply, Kikuno transfers as much of his body weight into his fist as possible to create immense power in his thrust. In other words, even if you weigh just 40 kilograms (88 pounds), if you put ten percent of your weight into your fist, it would be like punching someone with four-kilogram (8.8-pound) dumbbells.

▼ All of that weight goes into the fist.

Kouhey also practiced this multiple times with his online videos, but he still had trouble executing it in person.

Kikuno then began to instruct him on the proper way to punch. The trick is not to use your whole body and punch from the hip like a boxer, but to imagine your hand pulling the rest of your body forward as you punch.

And when Kouhey tried that…

Wait. It didn’t even feel like a punch, but he did somehow feel his body weight had transferred to his fist. Kouhey had read in a manga at some point that the truly effective punches that feel the most powerful are the ones without any strength put into them. Is that what Kouhey experienced? Either way, somehow an almost fifty-year-old managed to send brawny Kikuno stumbling back.

If you were to ask Kouhey if he was a stronger fighter than before he started his online course, he would say yes, definitely. But compared to the trainees who regularly work out at the dojo, Kouhey couldn’t help but think that his growth had been much slower since he lacked the intuition and knowledge of other fighters that only come from training with others.

For example, one 74-year-old student, who had only been training at the dojo for three months, already had a more powerful punch than Kouhey.

This is a different punch from the one we mentioned earlier. It uses centrifugal force, which brings its own power, regardless of the age of the user. Even after all this, Kouhey didn’t quite believe that a punch that didn’t look “proper” could be effective, so he asked the trainee to demonstrate it on him.

At first, he punched lightly.

Kouhey thought, “Well, this isn’t that bad.” Until…

BAM!

That was some power! He’d been hit on the right side of his chest, but he felt the shock all the way up in his skull, and before he could figure out left from right he had been sent stumbling back. That was when Kouhey really began to respect how awesome the in-person trainees were. The “anyone at any age” part was definitely not a lie.

So, can you become a strong fighter after half a year of training in martial arts with online videos? The answer is: it depends. It depends on how much time you dedicate to your own training. If you diligently watch the videos and train alongside them, even first-timers will gain some ability. But if you always train by yourself, you won’t be able to tell how far you’ve come.

Luckily, Dare Tsuyo DOJOy offers a solution to that problem by offering in-person “Training Sessions” in each region. In Chiba prefecture, for example, they hold monthly “Chiba Training Sessions”, where Kouhey has the chance to meet other Chiba-area students.

You can also sign up for one-on-one instruction with a dojo-certified instructor for an additional fee, so if you live in a region that doesn’t offer Training Sessions, you can build up the basics with the online classes and use this service to check in and see how you’re doing.

If you’re someone who is looking to gain some martial prowess–like smashing roof tiles with your fist–but hasn’t been able to take the first step, these online classes are a perfect introduction. If nothing else, it will help you change the way you look at life!

Images © SoraNews24 except where noted
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Don’t just be the king of the pirates, be the fitness king of the pirates!

Japan has a lot of anime-themed cafes these days, each of which has a lineup of tempting food and drink. And should you over-indulge? There’s now an anime-themed fitness gym right in the heart of Tokyo.

One Piece Fitness BragMen began welcoming exercisers on January 13 to its gym in the Shibuya neighborhood. To clarify, this isn’t some temporary fitness fair with One Piece theming to gently encourage kids to be more physically active. It’s a permanent full-on gym for adults, with a full array of weights, machines, classes, and personal trainers.

The One Piece connection is placed front and center. Aside from manga art on the walls, many of the classes draw inspiration from the long-running pirate saga. Group lesson options include Haki Projector Combat (pictured above), Alabaster Belly Dance, Pirate Pilates, and Marine Yoga.

Even some of the workout equipment has a One Piece motif, like the Shanks Weight Vest, a weighted garment that bears the mark of Shanks’ Red Hair Pirates.

The most eye-catching of all, though, has to be the “Meat Barbell.”

Shaped like a giant hunk of a meat on a bone, just how protagonist Luffy likes his, the Meat Barbell is something you definitely won’t find at any other gym.

Speaking of Luffy, in the same way that he goes from aspiring seafarer to leader of the Straw Hats and hopes to one day become the Pirate King, the One Piece gym tracks your fitness progress, and when you reach certain milestones, you’re given an upgraded pirate rank, progressing through titles such as “fugitive marked by the Marines” to “standard pirate crew member” and beyond. Your reports even include a numerical measure of your overall fitness that’s designated as your “bounty.”

▼ A fitness report showing a one million-Belly bounty

One Piece Fitness BragMen also has an attached cafe serving nutritious, high-protein meal boxes, and even non-gym members can place to-go orders.

Gyms in general aren’t cheap in Japan, and One Piece Fitness BragMen’s location in one of the busiest parts of downtown Tokyo means it commands an extra premium, with monthly membership plans starting at 15,400 yen (US$119). There is a one-day trial membership for first timers, though, called a taiken membership, available for 2,200 yen. And while adults are the target market, they do offer Pirate Kids Dance and Marine Kids Karate classes.

One Piece Fitness BragMen is located within the Shibuya Modi building, about a five-minute walk from Shibuya Station, and also around 12 minutes from the Chainsaw Man Cafe, in case you need to work off the calories from the anime eatery’s bloody delicious desserts.

Related: One Piece Fitness BragMen official website
Source: PR Times
Top image: One Piece Fitness BragMen
Insert images: One Piece Fitness BragMen, PR Times, One Piece Fitness BragMen (2, 3, 4)
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Salarymen with superhero strength band together to form a horizontal bar club.

Japanese salarymen tend to have an image of being overworked individuals who’ve had the souls sucked out of them by the company machine. So when our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma heard about a group of inspiring office workers who like to literally hang out in the park during lunchtime, he knew he had to go out and meet them.

▼ The group meets regularly in Hibiya Park, located a short two-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Hibiya Station in Chiyoda Ward.

Hibiya Park sits in a business district and is surrounded by government offices. With a large fountain and lots of greenery, including beautiful cherry blossom trees in spring, the park is an oasis for workers looking for a place to unwind during lunchtime.

While most people tend to spend some of their lunch hour sitting on park benches, one special group of salarymen prefer to hang out at the horizontal bars.

This is where Masanuki went to meet the salarymen, who’ve dubbed their group The Hibiya Horizontal Bar Club. One of the core members of the group, a man in his 60s called Mr Yoda, was first to arrive at the bars that day, and he greeted Masanuki warmly before removing his suit jacket and donning his “Hibiya Horizontal Bar Club” T-shirt.

Mr Yoda spoke to Masanuki about the group and how it started, telling him there were no set rules in the club, and that he began working out on the bars as a way to improve his shoulders, which had become stiff with age.

Masanuki was impressed by Mr Yoda’s commitment to the club, and was keen to see him do his thing on the bars.

As Mr Yoda approached the bar, Masanuki stood by the side to watch, anticipating that Mr Yoda might hang from the bars to stretch out his shoulders and not do much else.

Sure enough, Mr Yoda reached up and held on to the bar, giving his shoulders a good ‘ol stretch. It looked like he was enjoying the stretch in the sunshine, and Masanuki was about to applaud him for his efforts, but little did he know that Mr Yoda was just getting started.

▼ Mr Yoda began to swing himself back and forth, and then…

▼ …what the f#*k?

Masanuki gasped in astonishment as the salaryman in his 60s began to swing round and round and round and round on the bar in front of him. It was astonishing, awe-inspiring, and downright amazing.

Then, before he knew it, other members began appearing one after the other, donning their club T-shirts and taking turns to show off all the horizontal bar tricks they’d devised during their lunch breaks.

This little corner of Hibiya Park now looked like an audition venue for Cirque du Soleil. Masanuki was overwhelmed by the group’s gravity-defying stunts, and even more amazed that they managed to fit all this activity in during their lunch breaks.

▼ Check out the upper body strength!

Just as Masanuki began feeling embarrassingly inadequate for all the lunch breaks where he’d simply sat on his bum, another member, Mr Marshall, casually showed him his “Human Flag“.

Not to be outdone, Mr Yoda also showed Masanuki his Human Flag, only he chose to call it a carp streamer — a timely reference, given that carp streamers are soon to fly around the nation for Children’s Day on 5 May.

These salarymen, who work for leading companies in Tokyo, might look like sensible businessmen while dressed in their suits, but put them in front of a bar and their childlike spirit shines like the midday sun. For Yoda and his mates, it’s all in a day’s work — not only does it give them a good dose of much-needed stress relief in the middle of their workday, it gives them a circle of like-minded friends to unwind with too.

So next time you’re looking for a way to destress, you might want to keep an eye out for a horizontal bar in your neighbourhood. And if you’re in Hibiya Park at lunchtime on a weekday, feel free to stop by and say hi to these surprising salarymen. Just watching them is enough to re-energise you!

Related: Hibiya Park
Photos © SoraNews24
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Coordination and fitness are just a hop, step, and jump away.

It’s alway important to stay in shape and with our busy lives, using a jump rope can be a great way to get some quick calorie-burning activity in. It’s not without its problems though, such as a lack of space to use one or, in the case of our writer Masanuki Sunakoma, a lack of friends willing to swing the rope around because he’s too lazy.

“Hey, Mr. Sato! Wanna come do some Double Dutch with me?”

“No, sorry. I’m too busy being an adult. Good bye.”

“Bye… Poop Butt.”

Weird problems call for weird solutions, and no company is better at providing weird solutions than Akihabara-based gadget producer Thanko, also known as “the world’s most interesting goods store” by their marketing department. It was here that he purchased the Electric Rope Spinner for 5,980 yen (US$44).

Unlike conventional jump ropes, this device harnesses the awesome power of machinery to allow you to get a good workout. 

Setup was a breeze and just involved screwing the two rubber ropes into their sockets on the rotator.

The device itself charges by plugging into an outlet but it also comes with a remote control that requires one CR2032 coin cell battery sold separately. As luck would have it, Masanuki happened to have one on him.

Our reporter eagerly read about the Electric Rope Spinner’s important functions in the manual. The rotation speed is adjustable to ten levels and there’s an automatic counter freeing your brain up from tedious arithmetic to focus on jumping.

Although it’s safe and compact enough to use at home, Masanuki felt kind of weird doing that so he took it out to a nearby park where all the best skipping action happens.

The manual recommends starting with just one rope but he felt confident enough to go straight to two at the lowest speed setting.

The Electric Rope Spinner works on almost the exact same principle as a weed whacker, only instead of viciously tearing the flesh from his shins, it spins more gently to provide him the opportunity to strengthen his shins. It’s funny how much difference a small adjustment in speed can make.

That being said, when he uses the remote to turn up the speed, this thing can get going at a pretty brisk pace.

With his hands free, Masanuki was given the ability to focus on his feet which made him realize how good this was for training his sense of rhythm as well as his muscles.

Once he got into a groove, he even tried out a variety of fancy footwork.

However, be careful not to get carried away like Masanuki did and speed up your Electric Rope Spinner beyond your capabilities.

Thanko also recommends using it with a friend standing on the opposite side in a type of jumping battle game. That was something Masanuki wanted to try out too.

“Hey, Mr. Sato! Wanna…”

<Click>

“Booger face…”

Regardless, the Electric Rope Spinner is wholesome and healthy fun for all ages and surprisingly practical for a Thanko item.

Source: Thanko
Photos © SoraNews24
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Why be a couch potato when you can be a fruit exerciser instead?

Not a lot of people expected Suika Game to become a global hit. Japanese developer Aladdin X’s cute and quirky puzzle game really took off in the past year, with its intuitive but challenging play mechanics, matching pieces of dropping fruit to create single pieces of bigger types of fruit, finding fans worldwide.

Of course, an unexpected video game hit means more time playing video games, which for many translates into less time spent exercising. So it’s nice that there’s now a way to get in your Suika Game session and get some exercise at the same time. The credit here goes to wellness app developer Issin, who realized that the simplicity of Suika Game’s design allows its user interface to be easily adapted to motion controls, resulting in Suika Game Exercise Version.

▼ Suika Game Exercise Version preview video

All you really need to do to play Suika Game is position the next piece of fruit where you want it between the left/right border of the playfield, then drop it down, and those inputs now correspond to body movements. Stretch your arms up above your head and hold them there, then bend to the left or right. Your phone’s camera will then transmit your movements to the app, and your fruit will move correspondingly on the screen.

Once you’ve got the fruit aligned where you want it, drop your arms down, give a bend at the knees, and the fruit will drop. Then you raise your arms as the next piece comes out for your next exercise rep.

Suika Game Exercise Version runs through Issin’s Smart 5min exercise lesson smartphone app, available as a free download here. There’s also a heart-rate monitoring wristband for purchase that adjusts the intensity of Smart 5min’s five-minute workouts, but it’s unclear whether or not its required in order to play Suika Game Exercise Version.

As you can see from the video, the objective of Suika Game Exercise Version is more stretching and maintaining flexibility than building muscle and burning fat. Still, compared to lying down on your sofa and simply swiping your thumbs, it’s a much more physically active way to get your Suika Game fix, and odds are at least a few people who fire up the Smart 5min app to play Suika Game Exercise Version will decide that, while they’re logged in, they may as well check out a more intense lesson too. There’s even potential for Issin, if the response is positive, to adapt the concept to other falling-item puzzle games like Tetris or Puyo Puyo, maybe even adding those games’ two-player versus modes for some literally healthy competition between workout buddies.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: YouTube/issin・ヘルスケア
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Yusuke Murata’s kid is one of the most muscular teens in all of Japan.

Manga artist Yusuke Murata is best known for One-Punch Man, and his other major claim to fame is Eyeshield 21. With those being a superhero action series and high school football saga, it’s not a shock that Murata has an appreciation for highly developed male musculature, but when the artist recently posted about some very buff young men on his Twitter account, he wasn’t reminiscing about his past projects or giving an advance look at characters for a new upcoming manga. Instead, he was posting about a bodybuilding competition that took place in Tokyo on Sunday.

長男が準優勝でした。ナイスファイト！［速報］真夏のボディビル甲子園、東京で開催　高校生No.1ビルダー＆フィジーカーに輝いたのは？【JBBF】(VITUP!)#Yahooニュースhttps://t.co/78B7qGf7FI

— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) August 25, 2024

Why the interest in this particular event? Well, see the guy on the left, contestant number 245? That’s Keisuke Murata, and no, the family name isn’t a coincidence – he’s Yusuke Murata’s oldest son, and a competition-level bodybuilder.

色々落ち着いたのでお知らせします！高校生ボディービルにて二位になりました！悔しいですがまた精進します！！#ボディビル 　#高校生ボディビル pic.twitter.com/YzpKNBEw8h

— 肉体美鑑真＠skeb募集中 (@21enLLrsax9QVcW) August 25, 2024

Not only does Keisuke have an even more muscular build than many of the heroes his dad draws, he’s achieved this level of fitness before even getting out of his teens. Yep, the event he was competing in was Japan’s National High School Boys Bodybuilding Championship, which he entered in the 170-centimeter (66.9-inch) and shorter division, with a weight of 79 kilograms (174.2 pounds) the day before the competition began.

▼ He also competed at last year’s national championship, as shown in the two photos on the left here.

去年大会二日前体重71キロ
↓
今年大会前日計量79キロ(両年度当日体重は不明。おそらく今年は77キロ程度)
我ながら成長率は素晴らしいと思う。#ボディビル pic.twitter.com/TC2PoVVUfB

— 肉体美鑑真＠skeb募集中 (@21enLLrsax9QVcW) August 25, 2024

When the judges’ scores were tallied, Keisuke finished second in his division, prompting him to tweet “I’m bummed, but I’ll keep doing my best!” Papa Murata also had a keep-your-head-up attitude, saying “My oldest son finished as the runner-up. Nice effort!”

While perhaps not as startling as it would have been a generation or two ago when anime/manga were more of a niche hobby, it’s still sort of surprising to see a manga artist’s son achieving such high-level success in the sports world. That’s not to say Keisuke doesn’t have any interest in his dad’s line of work, though, as the younger Murata also enjoys drawing, periodically posting his illustrations through his Twitter account.

▼ Naturally, his artistic aesthetic sense is also muscle-focused

タルカ#イラスト　#創作イラスト pic.twitter.com/HnjBTIu0xu

— 肉体美鑑真＠skeb募集中 (@21enLLrsax9QVcW) May 8, 2024

So we can safely say that Keisuke has a broad range of interests…

大会二日前。確実に獲る。 pic.twitter.com/QFhBRu8np2

— 肉体美鑑真＠skeb募集中 (@21enLLrsax9QVcW) August 23, 2024

…in addition to his very broad delts and traps.

Source: Twitter/@ NEBU_KURO, Vitup via Yahoo! Japan News
Top image: Pakutaso
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But he wasn’t there to pump iron.

Having a gym near your workplace is handy. If you’re an early riser, you can probably sneak in a workout before clocking in at the office, and as long as you don’t get hung up with overtime, hitting the gym on your way home from work is an option too.

However, the convenience of a nearby gym proved to be too great a temptation for Kazushi Kono, a 55-year-old civil servant in the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. Well, technically he’s now a former civil servant, as he was fired late last month for skipping out of work in the middle of his shift to go the gym.

Outright axing someone just for that might seem like overkill, but this wasn’t a one-time transgression. Following an anonymous tip in August that Kono was routinely ditching work, the city launched an investigation and found that between April of 2021 and November of 2024, Kono had snuck off to the gym a total of 633 times. Assuming 20 working days in a month, that would be 633 unauthorized trips in 820 days, meaning that on any given day he was working, there was nearly an 80 percent chance that he’d be headed to the gym during working hours.

The investigation was also able to determine the total time Kono had spent at the gym while ditching work, right down to the minute: 658 hours, 36 minutes, making his sessions an average of approximately one hour each.

This might have you thinking that Kono is some sort of extreme fitness maniac, who simply can’t make it through a workday without pumping iron. Actually, though, Kono, who was a member of the city’s Parks Department, went to the gym to stretch and soak in its hot spring-water bath, saying that it helped alleviate numbness in his arms which he suffers from.

Nevertheless, the city didn’t take kindly to Kono building a paid near-daily rest and recuperation break into his work schedule without permission, and he admits the error of his conduct, saying “I overdid it, and I regret that.” He’s still been sacked, though, and four of his supervisors have also been officially reprimanded for not noticing his absences. The city is also insisting that Kono pay back 1.768 million yen (roughly US$11,300), the calculated amount of money he was paid for working during the 658 hours, 36 minutes he was actually at the gym, so while his gym sessions may have made his arms feel better, it looks like they’re going to hurt him in his wallet.

Source: NHK, Yomiuri Shimbun
Top image: Pakutaso
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Sure, Luffy is gonna be king of the pirates, but who’s gonna be king of the bodybuilders?

“One Piece gym” might sound like another athletic-themed one-day event from the smash hit anime/manga franchise, like its collaborations with Los Angeles’ professional basketball team the Lakers and pro football squad the Rams. In actuality, though, One Piece Fitness BragMen is a permanent institution, and the fitness facility has been One Piece-themed every day since its opening in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood in 2023.

Having just reached the two-year milestone last month, the gym is now gearing/bulking up for its latest fusion of anime fandom and fitness with the opening of entries for a One Piece bodybuilding contest.

Called the One Piece Body Make Contest Presented by BragMen, the goal is to “Strive for Luffy’s built-up body.” Contestants are required to wear denim shorts and a straw hat, matching protagonist Luffy’s preferred attire, and will be judged on a variety of factors split into two broad categories. The first is “One Piece elements,” which evaluates the contestant’s posing as a demonstration of their understanding of the One Piece anime/manga, as well as their ability to reproduce Luffy’s appearance costuming and overall look.

The second evaluation category will be “body make elements,” focused on more traditional bodybuilding competition areas such as muscular volume and tone, but also cleanliness of skin and hair, and also how nice the contestant’s smile is.

Entrants are required to submit six photos, starting with a front view, back view, and “spirit charging pose,” as demonstrated in the images above. Also required are a Gear 2 pose photo…

…and a Gum-Gum Gatling pose.

The sixth and final photo is a free pose for entrants to choose themselves, but given the One Piece elements part of the evaluation, recreating a pose that Luffy strikes somewhere within the pages of the manga or episodes of the anime is the best bet if you’re looking to impress the judges.

Would-be kings of the bodybuilding pirates have between now and April 30 to submit their applications, with the contest open to males ages 18 and up. Once all applications have been collected, the organizers of One Piece Body Make Contest Presented by BragMen (the gym itself, One Piece manga serialization home Weekly Shonen Jump, and Gold’s Gym-affiliated bodybuilding contest association Muscle Gate) will select the best entries to then compete against one another at a final-stage tournament to be held in the city of Kawasaki, Tokyo’s neighbor to the south, on June 1. As a perk, entrants selected to compete in the finals will be allowed to use One Piece Fitness BragMen’s facilities free of charge up to May 31.

Full entry details can be found on the Muscle Gate website here.

Source: One Piece Fitness BragMen via Twitter/@OP_BragMen via Anime News Network/Ken Iikura-Gross
Images: One Piece Fitness BragMen
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