Mid august I leave for Shimonoseki, Japan for four months. I’d like to keep riding while I’m there. Anyone here have any advice or experience riding in Japan?
I’ve never ridden in Japan but I do know that it is possible. Luckily I have planned out a RTW riding trip for when I win the lottery and found a few sources:
http://www.hachioji-rc.co.jp/aboutus/english.html
Those are stables in Tokyo and Kyoto but they might have some contacts in the area you’ll be in. I have ridden in Thailand and I can say it’s a very different experience but you can get lucky and strike gold anywhere in the world…good luck!
It is outrageously expensive to ride in Japan at least any where near Tokyo. I got stationed at Yokota AB outside of Tokyo and some of the local nationals in my office took me around to several riding schools to check things out and get pricing. I’ll have to see if I can dig up pictures to the places I went to but just to get started(aka join the club which didn’t include any riding) it was some insane amount over $1,000’ there were monthly dues and then you had to have their suggested equipment or better which was again very expensive. PM me if you have a specific area you’re looking at and I’ll contact my friends still there!
My friend Shioka, who was an exchange student from Japan, was very surprised to find out I had horses. She told me that only “royalty” rides in Japan. This was a girl who came from a well-off family who lived in a large penthouse in Tokyo.
I used to live in Singapore and knew a few friends who moved to Japan and continued riding. Assuming the atmosphere is somewhat similar, most of the better (ie… knowledgeable instructors, decent horse care) places to ride require you to join the club for a very large amount of money— however, I do know of some that offer a 2-3 month “trial” period which might work for you. If you’re lucky you might be able to find a stable that doesn’t charge a membership fee but I would be prepared for some interesting horsemanship practices.
We had a coworker From out affiliate in Japan come over to the states a few summers ago. After the normal touristy stuff, my boss asked if Yoshi could come ride. I had the perfect, she’d take care of your grandmother horse. They came over, she nodded, spoke some English, mounted ok. After 2 trips around the ring, said “YAA!!!” And smacked the mare with the reins, kicking away. Mare picked up a canter with Yoshi flaying about with a huge smile.
I was white as a sheet, imagining the international scandal when my horse killed her. My boss stood there with the video camera, mouth open.
I started yelling “WHOA, WHOA”. Mare came onto the middle, Yoshi smiling away.
Missy the horse became an international celebrity at our company. Every Japanese visitor since came to see her, several riding (on a lunge in the future).
Apparently riding is very expensive and for the elite over there. She had some experience but apparently “YAA” is universal (or too many cowboy movies.
Thanks for the links @NYCspaz. Very helpful. It look like I can join a riding club with a three month membership for about $750 + $100 per month + $88 per ride. I will check it out when I get there and let everyone know how it goes.
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Thanks for the links @NYCspaz. Very helpful. It look like I can join a riding club with a three month membership for about $750 + $100 per month + $88 per ride. I will check it out when I get there and let everyone know how it goes.[/QUOTE]
Ouch, that is an average of $750 month if you ride once a week.
I looked into riding in the Kyoto/Osaka area when I studied at Kansai Gaidai about 20 years ago. I found the Crane Riding School in Osaka. (It’s a chain) It was a large stable in a park within an easy walk from the subway. There was really no turnout, but they had a covered walker and the horses all seemed to be well cared for. Their coats glistened and their weight and temperaments were good. They may have turned them out in the rings (no grass) when they were not in use. I also believe that they “rotate” the horses around to farms in the countryside too.
I did not ride there because of the crazy fees. As someone else mentioned, you have to become a member of the “club”, then pay a monthly fee, then pay for lessons. So I just hung out at the barn and and watched lessons and even a horse show. The riding was all dressage and jumpers. Lower level… like 3’ max. The riders were not too great but they had so much fun and I will never forget how much joy they got from the sport. There was a trainer there who had ridden in Europe and you could tell. He was quite good when I saw him ride.
The horses were all ex-race horses. Japan is big on horse racing so the TBs need to be repurposed. I didn’t see a WB but again that was 1995, so things may be different now.
The barn and the facilities was immaculate, as one would expect.
If somehow you can handle the fees, I would do it. It’s probably not going to make you a great rider, but you will get your fix and it will give you a different appreciation for the sport. Just hanging out there and making friends with a similar interest did so for me!
A cheaper alternative is reading lots of books, watching lots of video, learn some other sport or skill such as a martial art that will help with your riding and enjoy the horses even more when you get home.
