I Visited The Muscle Girls Bar in Tokyo

Have you ever wanted to step out of your comfort zone? To try something different, be someone different? When I started gearing up for my trip to Japan, I wanted to do just that.

I’ve never been a bar hopper or party person. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone – as if going 7,000 miles to Tokyo wasn’t enough.

I came across the Muscle Girls Bar during my endless views of YouTuber videos about Japan.

Tokyo is a cultural mecca for themed eateries and restaurants. That includes snack subscription boxes and bars. But you need to hear about one of the most unique: Muscle Girls Bar.

What in the World is the Muscle Girls Bar?

You might have heard about the Muscle Girls Bar. It’s a place where people go to get slapped by muscle bound women, have unlimited drinks, and see women perform astounding feats of athleticism.

If that was all it was, you could stop reading here.

But this bar is much more than that.

The Muscle Girls Bar is located on the basement floor of a building near Ikebukuro Station. You enjoy alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks while interacting with the staff. They showcase their physique and physical prowess through feats of strength.

The Muscle Girls and The Manager

The bar opened in June 2020. The fitness-themed bar is operated by fitness enthusiasts, martial arts, even wrestlers. Staff consists of about 20 female fitness fans. If you go to the Muscle Girls Bar you can exchange the bar’s unique currency, dubbed muscle coins. You convert the coins for various services – kicked, carried, and have one of the ladies squeeze fruit juice on you.

The Manager, aka Mama, was a careful observer for any potential bad behavior. That includes any physical contact with the staff. Nothing untoward happened during my visit. It was a lively and positive experience.

The Manager made sure of it.

Female Empowerment Angle

You might see articles, pictures, and videos mentioning the Muscle Girls Bar as pursuing female empowerment. There’s an element of appreciation for women pursuing fitness. That’s for sure. Perhaps one third of the experience fits the bill.

Fitness enthusiast appreciation is not the vibe I got when I visited in May 2024.

The other two-thirds? Girls bar. The experience is more akin to a fitness-themed girls bar than female empowerment – at least from a customer’s view.

You will find it awesome that there are women who break out of the social norms of women not lifting weights or taking fitness seriously. The ladies do pull ups, bench presses, pole dancing and lift grown men no problem. It is admirable.

How Much Does It Cost for the Muscle Girl Bar

You can make your reservation on japanticket.com like I did. Reserve your spot at least a month in advance. The bar has grown in popularity since its opening in 2020 and spots fill fast.

The cost? 5,000 yen for a one hour package – including an all you can drink menu, a freshly squeezed fruit show with muscle show time and ten muscle dollars for use to buy additional services.

The muscle dollar system converts from ¥1000 for 10 “muscle dollars”. You can get 10 dollars free if you can chest press two 45 pound plates for 50 consecutive reps. It’s a feat easier and harder than you might think.

As of 11/10/2024, it appears the price is going up to 6,000 yen – or $39.29 USD or 36.65 Euros.

What You Will Experience at the Muscle Girls Bar

After spending an afternoon at Akihabara, I went to Ikebukuro for my reserved Muscle Girls Bar experience.

I got there at 6pm just as the show was about to start. About 20 guests attended the Muscle Girls Bar. Fellow customers came from all over the world – Dominican Republic, various countries in Europe, and the United States.

When you get there you take a seat and one of the Muscle Girls gives you a menu and describes what the experience is like.

The menu items were, um… different.

You can pay one or more (!) of the Muscle Girls to slap you. Or kick you in the butt, or slide down a pole dancer pole and stop just above you while you lay on the floor. Guys paying muscle girls to slap them, saw a YouTube video of guy that paid the muscle girls to kick him in the butt. Awesome footage to share with friends in your home country.

One of the Muscle Girls gets assigned to you for the evening. My assigned Muscle Girl “Ritsuko” chatted with me casually throughout the evening. She was pleasant and had solid English proficiency.

She took my orders. This included services taking pictures with a muscle girl, and a muscle bar bag and the non-alcoholic drinks I ordered: oolong tea, orange juice and water. The drinks came in huge mugs.

And after the drinks, the staff’s performance, chats with Ritsuko, and a lot of photos and video, the 80 minutes went by fast.

Conclusion

The Muscle Girls Bar is best described as a fitness-themed girls bar. It offers a positive and at times raucous experience.

You will love it.

If you want some drinks and a different kind of bar experience then this is the place for you.

Even if you go solo, as I did, there is fun to be had.

It’s certainly worth the experience while visiting Japan. 

Author: Rakim Reid

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