<h3><span class="strongInContent">Otaku = weak&#8221; is a thing of the past. For the otaku in Reiwa, muscle is life!</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></h3>
<p> As the number of people using personal training gyms increases, there is one gym that is attracting a great deal of attention from a certain segment of the population. Its name is &#8220;Clara,&#8221; a personal gym specializing in women otaku. Also known as &#8220;Otaku Gym Clara.</p>
<p> The gym has quickly caught the latent needs of otaku girls who want to improve their physical fitness for their favorite activities or to achieve a body that will put their favorite otaku to shame, and has opened four gyms across Japan, centering on Ikebukuro, a sacred place for otaku girls. Clara&#8217;s representative, Mr. Saku, explains the reason for the birth of the Otaku Gym and why the company is focusing on expanding the number of stores. <span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_343462" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343462" style="width: 2000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ed9ffab6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/7aa2e5105d7cf99ed9308807ceffc040.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343462" class="wp-caption-text"> The industry&#8217;s first personal training gym specializing in women otaku, also known as &#8220;Otaku Gym Clara</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> By otaku, for otaku.</span></h3>
<p> Clara, a personal training gym specializing in training otaku women, opened its first store in Ikebukuro in 2009, and its owner, Clarabo Co.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I&#8217;m an otaku and cosplayer by nature,&#8221; she says, &#8220;I was hooked on manga and anime when I was five years old and made my cosplay debut in junior high school. I&#8217;ve been active for about 20 years, but when I entered my 30s, I started gaining weight and couldn&#8217;t wear the costumes I used to wear. I tried dieting on my own, but the results were almost nonexistent, so I started going to a personal training gym.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_343454" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343454" style="width: 2355px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5e4b172b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/3b89d6ac9722b48c07817fb70b99e400.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343454" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Saku is a representative of Clara. His favorite character is Kentaro Minami from the manga &#8220;The Prince of Tennis.</figcaption></figure>
<p> After one year of going to the gym, he succeeded in losing about 13 kg. Not only did he achieve his goal of &#8220;wearing the clothes of his 20s again,&#8221; but he also had positive effects on his health and mental health. However, during his time there, he had difficulty communicating with the trainer, and he struggled with it every day.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I&#8217;m a nerd who leans toward the negative side, but the trainers at the gym are all cheerful people. &#8230;&#8230; I didn&#8217;t know what to talk about in small talk, and it was hard to ask for advice like, &#8216;I want to get abs in men&#8217;s clothes by the end of the month,&#8217; and sometimes I lied when I reported my daily diet on line.</span></p>
<p> One time I lied was when I went to a limited-time collaboration café of my favorite anime. He went there to eat sweets and drinks in the image of the characters, but such places were generally high in calories, and it was difficult for him to tell his trainer honestly.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> At the collaboration cafes, the faces of the anime characters were sometimes displayed on plates, so I would take them off and send them a picture to make it look like a fashionable café,&#8221; he said. It was hard not being able to tell the truth, and telling a bunch of lies.</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_343455" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343455" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b2e004ff"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/8443a643d2c24bf28263ea170ec0e82e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343455" class="wp-caption-text"> SAKU cosplaying as Tokugawa Ieyasu from &#8220;Sengoku BASARA 3.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" What Reiwa otaku need is a strong body!"></div>
<div class="expapp-yahoo-paragraph-break"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Otakus in Reiwa need a &#8220;strong body!</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></h3>
<p> The decisive reason for creating &#8220;Otaku Gym Clara&#8221; was the fact that while many otaku are not confident in their physical strength, the &#8220;guessing activities&#8221; are surprisingly hard and can result in physical problems or even emergency hospitalization due to overwork, He was once hospitalized in an emergency room after he was unable to sleep well due to the demands of both his work and his &#8220;guess work.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> Otaku are surprisingly busy: watching anime, playing games, reading books, attending live concerts, watching stage performances, and waiting in line for merchandise sales. Cosplayers are involved in costume creation, photography, photo editing, and for some, creative activities as well; SAKU once worked two nights in a row before an event because of a combination of costume creation and work. It is no wonder that sleep time is cut short for the sake of guesswork.</p>
<figure id="attachment_343456" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343456" style="width: 1500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="80a18b88"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/5ce0762cbfe902cbd10508576dc5c95a.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343456" class="wp-caption-text"> A wedding ceremony was also held at Otaku Gym on the occasion of the release of a guesser&#8217;s birthday ring. There was a huge response.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Otaku have a habit of putting their bodies on the line for their guesses. Other examples include standing in line for seven hours under the scorching sun, waving a penlight for three hours straight at a festival, and traveling across the country for stage and live performance tours. Some of my acquaintances have collapsed and died during events.</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I also learned that there are a surprisingly large number of fellow otaku who say, &#8220;I think I should work out for my guesswork, but I&#8217;m too scared to go to the gym. They seemed to have the same resistance to the gym as I did.</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, after working out myself, I found that I was finding it less difficult to enjoy the guessing game, and more than anything, I wanted my fellow otaku to enjoy the guessing game as long as they wanted to.</span></p>
<p> When the announcement was made on SNS, the response was even greater than expected, with the gym immediately trending on X (formerly Twitter) and many otaku showing interest. It was also picked up by online news outlets, and at its peak there was a waiting list of 120 people to join. The number of members now stands at about 160.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Lost 7 kg in 6 months!　An opportunity to enjoy life in a positive way</span></h3>
<p> Momoka, who has been a member of the club since its opening, was one of those who joined after seeing X. &#8220;I moved to Tokyo when I started working.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> She says, &#8220;I moved to Tokyo when I started working, but due to working from home in Corona, my weight was at an all-time high. I was wondering whether I should go to a gym, but I just couldn&#8217;t go to a place where sparkling people gather. &#8230;&#8230; That&#8217;s when I found</span><span class="strongInContent"> X</span><span class="strongInContent"> I felt comfortable with the fact that the owner was an otaku, so I went for a free trial,&#8221; said Momoka, a civil servant who lives in Tokyo.</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_343457" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343457" style="width: 2000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5dfbbe81"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/a5e66dea71550c125b6fbbd390a1b34b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343457" class="wp-caption-text"> Momoka lives in Tokyo and is a government employee. Her favorites are Otuya Itsuki and Camus from &#8220;Uta no Prince Sama!</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Her goal is to make all the otaku in the world healthy!"></div>
<div class="expapp-yahoo-paragraph-break"></div>
<p>The free trial lasts approximately one hour. First, a counseling session is held to understand the client&#8217;s usual diet, life cycle, and body concerns, followed by stretching and training using hand towels and stretch poles, and ending with a special protein drink.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The training was harder than I expected, but the trainer was kind, and since we are both geeks, we had a good time finishing. And since I had a live performance of &#8220;UtaPuri&#8221; coming up in three months, I decided to join the gym to get in shape before then.</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> After the &#8220;UtaPuri&#8221; event, she continued to come once a week, and within six months she had lost 7 kg. Until then, she had avoided wearing clothes that showed her curves, but recently she has been able to try on see-through as well as tight clothes. With this momentum, she took a personal color diagnosis and said, &#8220;I found that red, which I used to think didn&#8217;t suit me, looks good on me. I am happy because it is the image color of my guess,&#8221; she smiles.</p>
<figure id="attachment_343459" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343459" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bf98f071"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/98cea486ee39a6351bfc3d291b2e1f69.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343459" class="wp-caption-text"> Successfully dieting and going to the 7th LIVE of &#8220;UtaPri</figcaption></figure>
<p> She also learned how to adjust her diet after overeating, so she can now go out to eat with friends without hesitation. In addition, he can now enjoy dates with his favorite actor and stuffed animals.</p>
<figure id="attachment_343461" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343461" style="width: 3024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2668b0e3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/b7d63f068798ba68faa24e3f77a66a34.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343461" class="wp-caption-text"> Going to Pacifico Yokohama with her favorite actor and stuffed animal to see a stage greeting for the theater version of the &#8220;UtaPuri&#8221; anime.</figcaption></figure>
<p> In addition to Momoka, others have gained confidence after successfully losing weight and getting married. She has given many otaku a chance to enjoy life in a positive way. <span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Our goal is to make all the otaku in the world healthy!</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></h3>
<p> Otaku Gym Clara is currently focusing on expanding the number of locations, with a fifth location scheduled to open in Tenjin, Fukuoka, in December. After that, the company plans to open a fifth location in Tenjin, Fukuoka, with Nagoya and Hokkaido also in the works. <span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Our mission is to make otaku around the world healthier. We are planning to expand overseas soon. We also have the goal of &#8216;expanding the circle of otaku. We are planning off-line meetings to connect members and exercise lesson events to create new encounters with other otaku.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I would also like to collaborate with voice actors and actors and focus on creating mechanisms for otaku to enjoy training, so that the world can be a place where otaku can become healthy and live their lives with vigor and enthusiasm.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_343453" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343453" style="width: 2000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="874a9a05"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/d21236fceccf021f5f388f4bbaae6c2a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343453" class="wp-caption-text"> Studio A in Ikebukuro. The theme is &#8220;cool.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_343463" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343463" style="width: 2000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="173816e8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/a133232e30f30fba177ec9ebd8fca6bf.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343463" class="wp-caption-text"> Personal items from anime, manga, and video games that SAKU, trainers, and members like are lined up.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_343464" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343464" style="width: 2000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3557fa07"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/52a7a767a902fb672d0944ed80d5e31e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343464" class="wp-caption-text"> Lots of goods in the changing rooms. Just looking at them is fun!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_343465" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343465" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4c2ce30b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/1c6e4ef43a1819905e0c1f62e7114c07.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343465" class="wp-caption-text"> Pop&#8221; is the theme of Ikebukuro C Studio</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_343466" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343466" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4860086b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/70553c2b3b03dce73b6f2b167baccb6a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343466" class="wp-caption-text"> Private rooms at Ikebukuro C Studio are available in three colors: blue, pink, and yellow.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_343467" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343467" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a49098e8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/c57d74ca2a1ee5aad0b9a4c9fc1d6271.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343467" class="wp-caption-text"> Akihabara Studio is an adult space with a &#8220;vintage&#8221; theme.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_343468" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-343468" style="width: 1500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="072f7d61"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/11/acad424d637da6e7c5cd5fe95facdb54.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-343468" class="wp-caption-text"> Shinsaibashi Studio has a &#8220;luxurious&#8221; atmosphere</figcaption></figure>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-start"></div>
<p><a href="https://claragym.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Click here for the <span class="strongInContent">Otaku Gym Clara</span> website</a></p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>


 Motoko Abegawa works as a freelance writer mainly for the web. She is also involved in the production of books and corporate PR magazines. She does not specialize in any particular field, but covers a wide range of topics that intrigue her, including history, comedy, health, beauty, travel, gourmet food, and nursing care.

 Motoko Abekawa

 Hidemi Shinoda (interview, Ikebukuro studio)

 There is a gym that is attracting a lot of attention from otaku girls who want to improve their physical fitness for their "guess activities" and to achieve a body that will live up to their "guesses. We asked them about the reasons for the birth of Otaku Gym and why they are focusing on expanding the number of stores.

Personal training gym specializing in geeks is popular.

Access Ranking