swimming
 

thinking about going to the Yomiuri Land pool for the day. Unless there are nice pools (maybe even with a slide) closer in the city center of Tokyo that i could pay to use...

Questions:
Can women wear traditional "full coverage" bikinis? Or is it all one pieces, tankinis, and/or "skirt" bottoms?
Do I need to wear a real swimming cap or can I wear an old baseball hat?

I have no tattoos...

Depending on where you're located, Toshima-en might be easier to reach. Can't comment on which is better:
http://www.toshimaen.co.jp/pool/index.html
Hard to say without knowing exactly what it looks like and that can depend on the individual. Post a photo and our panel of experts will provide a free consultation.
No Japanese pool will let you pass Go without a real swimming cap.
It's never too late.

lolol thanks for the response. i just did some google image searching of pools in japan. i see girls in bikinis. i think i'll be fine. i'm staying at the Dormy Inn Shibuya. Is Toshimaen closer? and i will need a true swimming cap... gotcha.

Depends on what you want to pay, you can use the Hyatt Regency pool and fitness center near Shinjuku for Y4,200 a day -- but I suspect from your choice of hotel that is likely be out of your price range.

http://tokyo.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt...pool/index.jsp

Not much in it. Check Hyperdia for routes.

The New Otani's pool is open to the public, outdoors, centrally located, has great poolside dining and sometimes live music, but it's pretty pricey (12,000 yen during the week, more on the weekend, cheaper if you go after 6 PM for the "night pool").

http://www.newotani.co.jp/en/tokyo/i.../index.html?mv

The Toshimaen and Yomiuri Land pools are going to be chock full of little kids no matter when you go.

If you're going up to Toshimaen you might want to check out "Niwa no yu," an onsen on site which has a mixed-gender pool in the middle (bathing suit required, natch). It's indoors but should be a more relaxed environment.

http://www.niwanoyu.jp/floormap/index.html

It's pretty small, doesn't really allow you to bring in your own floats and such, and fairly crowded the times I've been there last month.

It's fine if you're staying at the hotel and can get in for free, but I don't think the OP would be happy paying 4200 yen per person just for that experience.

There are plenty of public pools all over Tokyo for a small fraction of that price, though you'll have to put up with silly rules like "everyone out of the pool for 10 minutes every hour, so you can rest and so we can re-check the water quality"

http://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/mina...1/1007_03.html

Or you can just hop on the Yokosuka or Shonan Shinjuku line for an hour to Kamakura and swim in the ocean for free.

There, I fixed it.

(If you want to go to the beach in Japan, go somewhere other than the south shore of Kanagawa; it is gross.)

*shrug* It's an ocean, not an enclosed public pool (which probably has a much higher urine-to-water ratio).

I doubt that Daytona Beach is much better.

I've been thinking about that ridiculous rule, and I think there is more to it than the reasons they give, which are oh so Japanese. I think they do it to manage pool capacity. If you are forced to get out of the pool every hour for 10 minutes, the likelihood of you staying for more than 50 minutes is probably reduced dramatically. Of course, some people wait it out and then get back in, but most people just leave rather than wait 10 minutes to get back in, cooling you off and taking the willingness to get back into the pool out of you.

I think this is a classic case in Japan of "more than meets the eye."

IME going to a pool in Japan in most circumstances isn't worth it, unless your goal is to become frustrated.

Thank you all. i guess i should have entitled this "going on water slides near tokyo". The Hyatt's pool looks very pretty, but I kinda like the slides, kiddy atmosphere. I may not even go, or i'll pick one near Seoul before i fly to Tokyo. just trying to get some ideas.

this thread is making me sound entirely strange. :eek::cool:

How about the outdoor Shiba Koen pool? (AKA Aqua field)

Minimal swimwear and a (small) children's area with elephant slide along with the 50m pool.

Cost is 400yen and you can get the Toei 88 bus there from Shibuya station.
http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/bus/keitou/2604.html

Timetable from Shibuya
http://tobus.jp/cgi-bin/pctimetable....06360000&hcd=0

Apparently, you don't need to wear swim caps here.

There is the famous Oiso Long Beach, at Prince Hotel Oiso, about 75 minute train ride from Tokyo.

http://www.princehotels.co.jp/pool/oiso/

From the English site, which I would post a link to except this is pretty much all that it says:

"Starting with the 140m long waterslider and the flowrider, for body boards only, there are nine unique pools such as the Current Pool and the Wave Pool that can be enjoyed by everyone from families to couples."

Might be better off combining with a night at the hotel as well. They've got bowling, futsol, tennis, karaoke, all sorts of fun stuff.

http://www.princehotels.com/en/oiso/

Re beaches, I was doing some research and it looks there might be some nice ones in Chiba. I'll probably head out there in September. I forget the names. Might be hard to reach by train, which probably makes them even better.

I have been to Kamakura and the beach looks nasty. Reminds me of Nantasket, MA. I would stay away as suggested above.

p.s. Is it possible to swim at the Odaiba beach?