Skating rinks in Tokyo -- daughter will be there for a month

[ZilphaK]

I know this may be a long shot, but if anyone here lives in Tokyo or might have good Tokyo skating insights.... (please feel free to tag them on this post).

My daughter is heading to Toyko for a month -- actually, living in suburbs, Tokorozawa.

She will be going to school each morning in Toyko, near Nippori station. So, we're looking for some options, either near school or close to her home.

It looks like there are two rinks on train lines near her (Seibu Shinjuku line and Seibu Ikebukuro Line.)

Dydo Drinco Ice Arena would be a 22 minute ride, no transfers.
Higashiyamato Skate Center is about a 33 minute ride.
Both have train stations super close.

Citizen ice skating rink would be close to school.

I'm having trouble finding any information online about freestyle times, costs, etc. Also, any ice etiquette info that may be different would be great to know.

If anyone has any info or suggestions about other rinks in the city close to the school, it would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[ZilphaK]

Okay, I did find a few websites.

http://www.meijijingugaien.jp/english/ice-skating.html
http://www.citizen-plaza.co.jp/service/skate/

Are all sessions open freestyle? Or is it all public ice? Hmmmm.....

 

[Spun Silver]

No input as to your questions, obviously, but how wonderful that your daughter is getting to spend some substantial time in Japan! I'm sure she'll have a fabulous time!

 

[ZilphaK]

No input as to your questions, obviously, but how wonderful that your daughter is getting to spend some substantial time in Japan! I'm sure she'll have a fabulous time!

She's really excited! She's been working and saving up for this for a while.

 

[Clarice]

I've never been there myself, but a family that used to be in our club lives there now. They came back to visit this summer. From what they said, I understand sessions are very crowded and all kinds of skating are done at the same time. Your daughter will definitely need to find out what the traffic patterns are. I don't believe any accommodations are made for clockwise skaters. The only way to get on less crowded ice is through a club as an elite skater. They girls are enjoying their lessons, but conditions are very different from the US.

 

[hobbit123]

Okay, I did find a few websites.

http://www.meijijingugaien.jp/english/ice-skating.html
http://www.citizen-plaza.co.jp/service/skate/

Are all sessions open freestyle? Or is it all public ice? Hmmmm.....

I skated at Dydo Drinco and a couple of other Japanese rinks last month. All the times listed on the various websites are public sessions - there will be a manned reception so just pay your entry fee and you're in. Jumping/spinning is allowed on the public sessions at Dydo (and Meiji Jingu I think), Citizen has restrictions late afternoon and weekends.

This is the website for Dydo Drinco - ice times for Jul and Aug can be found in the pdfs linked just below the picture: https://www.seiburailway.jp/guide/rec/fushimi/. Times in black are public skating sessions, otherwise the rink is closed for maintenance, events etc.

Etiquette-wise: the centre is typically cordoned off (with cones) for jumps and spins during busy times. Dydo Drinco website's picture gives a good idea of what this looks like. About 1/3rd of the centre space is for spins and the remainder is the "jump area", easy to figure out once you've observed for a bit. Not for the timid skater though - lots of young ones zooming past and doing doubles/triples in pretty small space! Would be difficult for a clockwise jumper. There wasn't any room to run through a program or an ice dance pattern!

Costs for public sessions are listed on all the websites - there are two rates - adult (about 1300yen) or child (below junior high, about 700-800yen).

Hope some of this is helpful, if you have other questions I can try to answer!

 

[ZilphaK]

I skated at Dydo Drinco and a couple of other Japanese rinks last month. All the times listed on the various websites are public sessions - there will be a manned reception so just pay your entry fee and you're in. Jumping/spinning is allowed on the public sessions at Dydo (and Meiji Jingu I think), Citizen has restrictions late afternoon and weekends.

This is the website for Dydo Drinco - ice times for Jul and Aug can be found in the pdfs linked just below the picture: https://www.seiburailway.jp/guide/rec/fushimi/. Times in black are public skating sessions, otherwise the rink is closed for maintenance, events etc.

Etiquette-wise: the centre is typically cordoned off (with cones) for jumps and spins during busy times. Dydo Drinco website's picture gives a good idea of what this looks like. About 1/3rd of the centre space is for spins and the remainder is the "jump area", easy to figure out once you've observed for a bit. Not for the timid skater though - lots of young ones zooming past and doing doubles/triples in pretty small space! Would be difficult for a clockwise jumper. There wasn't any room to run through a program or an ice dance pattern!

Costs for public sessions are listed on all the websites - there are two rates - adult (about 1300yen) or child (below junior high, about 700-800yen).

Hope some of this is helpful, if you have other questions I can try to answer!

Thank you! Yes! I'll send this info to my daughter.

 

[ZilphaK]

Update:

She did skate at Dydo Drinco and it sounded as crazy as described. Very, very crowded. Tots class going on, public skate and skaters doing spins and jumps through doubles. She's used to skating at a very crowded mixed-level rink, but from the sound of it, there were triple the number of people on the ice (over 30), and a fast queue to get jumps and spins in. She said all the jumps had to be done in a very small area, and it took some nerve to do it. She didn't do double lutz because there was no obvious lutz corner, and she has a pretty long blind entrance to her lutz.

But, she did have a lot of fun and is going back again this week. At the very least, she won't complain about "crowded" sessions in the US again.