Tipness!

So, I joined a gym - Tipness Maunouchi Style. It is right in my office building - and brand new. I always like having a gym near work. I find that I am more motivated if I carve out a time during the day to work out (away from home) instead of trying to get myself off the couch once I am home from work.

The name, Tipness, is weird. Michael and I have decided it is a great example of a Japanese company taking an English term and trying to be clever. We are pretty sure they were going for a name like Pinnacle. It is a play on Fitness, right? From tip-top, as in tip-top shape. Fitness - Tipness.

This gym is nice - super fancy in fact. They have a beautiful facility, each of the work out machines has its own TV, and the locker room has individual beauty stations where I can do my hair and make-up (HA). (You can see a picture gallery here. Just click on "Club Gallery.")

Signing up for the gym was definitely a reminder, though, that I am not in Kansas anymore (or Indiana - whatever).

First of all - the membership agreement. Before I was allowed to join the gym, I had to agree to the following things:

1. I do not have any communicable diseases.
2. I am not pregnant.
3. I am not a member of a criminal organization.
4. I do not have any tattoos.
5. I did not lie about any of the foregoing.

In addition, I had to agree to notify the gym know if any of those things are no longer the case, as each of them is grounds for expulsion. That's right folks, I can get kicked out of my gym for getting pregnant. How's that for birth control?

**Small side note - one of the biggest problems facing Japanese society is their declining birth rate. The government is having a hard time coming up with programs to incentivize people to have kids. They have tried "baby money" (basically your Ward gives you cash when you have a baby - up to $3,000 - scroll down to "Lump-sum Childbirth Allowance"), forcing workers to go home early to have sex, forcing fathers to take paternity leave, all to no avail. Maybe they should start letting pregnant women join gyms? Just a thought....**

Second - the facilities. This gym does not stop at showers and towels and individual beauty centers. The women's locker room has a tatami mat meditation room. There are work stations with computers. There is a nutrition and health center where you can consult with a doctor. AND - they provide the shoes.

Well, you can use their shoes if you sign up for the Premium Membership (there are also clothes - shorts and t-shirts in the drawers). Regular members like me need to bring their own shoes and clothes. Harrumph.

I have yet to actually work out here, but I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience. (It really helps that there is English signage on the doors - I am totally *that* girl who would waltz into the Men's locker room.)

I will report back.