Hey all, I've just arrived in Tokyo (well a couple of months ago) and wanting to get back into climbing. Used to be pretty active, but have done nothing much for the last three months - recovering from a (climbing related) sprain. Problem is, here after work I have no time to hit the gym. So in this vein, I was wondering whether anyone on here have any suggestions on how I can go about getting a board set up on my roof terrace - e.g. maybe get someone to do build me something.

I guess once I start getting fit again I'll think about getting outside... :-)

Cheers, Simon

Not quite a parallel situation, but I have a hangboard over the door between my kitchen and living room. The way I did it may be of some help. It's a bit hard to describe without a diagram, but here's my best shot:

Think generally of a plywood sandwich formed of two large pieces of plywood stretching horizontally across the top of the door frame, one on each side of the door. The hangboard is mounted to one of these pieces. THE DOOR IS PREVENTED FROM CLOSING BY THE INSTALLATION.

The door frame itself is made of wood, and projects around 8-10mm from the surrounding wall, all the way around the door. It is this projection that forms the structural support for the handboard. The plywood sandwich is squeezed together by bolts mounted on long (?) pieces of threaded steel bar stock that run between the two pieces of ply wood, through the open space at the very top of the door, just below the frame. Thin strips of wood attached horizontally to the inner faces of the plywood rest on top of the door frame, and are held in place by the pressure of the two pieces of plywood being squeezed together.

More detail:

The goal was to avoid drilling holes in the walls (generally frowned upon by Japanese landlords), so I used wood glue and screws to mount an approximately 60cm by 5 cm by 8-10mm strip of wood horizontally (the long way) across the back of the large, rectangular piece of 20mm (or so) plywood to which I intended to mount the hangboard.

When the plywood piece was held against the top of the door frame, this thin strip rested on top of the door frame. I then took another large rectangular piece of 20mm (or so) plywood and prepared it similarly for the other side of the door.

The lower two-thirds of each piece of plywood completely spanned the upper part of the doorway, reducing the height of the doorway (but I'm short, so I don't care about that).

I then used a hacksaw to cut four pieces of threaded steel bar (maybe 6mm diameter or so? I bought all of this stuff by eye at the Tokyo Hands in Shibuya) long enough to pass through both pieces of plywood and through the empty space between them at the very top of the door, just below the frame.

I then drilled two pairs of holes in both pieces of plywood in a box pattern, so that the holes in one piece aligned with those in the other piece. I threaded the pieces of steel bar through these holes, and fixed the piece of plywood on which I intended to mount the hangboard in place on the bar stock with bolts that I bought to match the bar stock thread, one on each side of the piece of plywood on each of the four bar pieces.

The pieces of bar passed through the aligning drilled holes on the other piece of plywood and I threaded bolts onto each bar on the outside only of that piece of plywood. When I tightened those bolts down, the entire structure formed a sandwich over the top part of the door frame, with the bolts squeezing it in tight against the top of the frame, so that the thin strips of wood that I'd glued and screwed onto each piece of plywood rested on top of the frame and were supported by it.

I found that I had to torque the bolts down pretty hard, and the pieces of plywood started to bend, so I cut short pieces of wood to act as cross braces in the open space in the middle of the sandwich. The cross braces should be short enough to enable plenty of "squeeze" when the bolts are tightened, but long enough to prevent the plywood from cracking or bending to far for good contact with the door frame.

I then measured for head clearance, dismounted the entire assembly and mounted the hangboard at an appropriate height. (I actually got it a couple of centimeters too low. When I do pullups with excess vigor on the top holds, I sometimes bang my head on the ceiling... duh!)

I then remounted the whole thing and cinched the bolts down tight.

Every so often it requires re-tightening, but it works fine, and hasn't damaged the door frame so far. Been up and in use for more than five years.

I can take a cell phone photo and mail it to you, if you're interested. Not sure what the quality would be like, however.

Edited to add: I only weigh about 60 kilos, so I'm not sure how this would work out for someone a lot bigger. Some of my bigger friends have done a pullup or two, and the mounting has held, but that's not the same as daily use.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tokyo bill,

hey, thanks for putting the effort into the post. any suggestions on where I can get supplies such as boarding and also suggestions for climbing shops?

also, what's the best way to hook up with partners? have done a bit of winter stuff, so interested in looking for ice-climbing partners as well.

regards,

simon

You hook up with partners by posting on this board!!

I have been out of action since highschool, but I did bring my rack to japan, and if my gdayat paperwork ever arrives from canada, I will have a car to take on trips for next spring (not an offroad car however). Drop a line my way someday, but I will be stuck on the 5.9s for a while with this flabby body I have aquired.

Bill, wow, thats genius. You are lucky to have such a doorframe eh?

Simon, you might try Tokyu Hands in Shibuya (pricey) or Beaver home (don&t know whats closest to you) but I must warn you that the massive DIY home centers of N.America are few and far between here. Its fairly easy to find used tools if not materials though. Good luck. Also if you hire a japanese guy to build it for you be advised that it will be both a work of art and engineering, and will cost 5 times what you think it should.

Jesse

EDIT forgot to say that if you get on the den-entoshi line from shibuya and head towards Futako-tamagawa (and waaaay past it) you will eventually come to Minami-Machida (its about a 300 yen trip) where there is a Mont Blanc / REI branded store with quite a lot of climbing gear at really good prices. Some of the staff are even climbers, and they have a demo wall thats fun for a few minutes and moderately challenging. I was really impressed at their prices on shoes, and kayaks too. Its a big store in the open-air Grandberry Mall complex, on the way to the cinema you cant miss it.

As darthdavis suggested, I got all my lumber and fittings at Tokyu Hands in Shibuya - pricey but convenient.

As for climbing partners, I'm at the gym most every Tues. and Thurs. evening after work, but it sounds like that won't work for you. I also get out pretty regularly on the weekends.

Whenever you feel like you're ready to get out again, drop me a note (better remind me who you are or I may not remember - not many braincells left these days). I'll be happy to let you know what's up in terms of upcoming outings. My e-mail is tokyobill123 at hotmail dot com.

You could also try the International Adventure Club (IAC), which runs various outdoor activities, including some climbing. I'm not a member, so can't provide much info. Nonetheless, might be worth a look. Here's a web site:

http://www.iac-tokyo.org/

There's also the Outdoor Club Japan, which may also have some climbing events. Again, I'm not a member. Web site is here:

http://outdoorclubjapan.com/

Oops, edited to add:

For climbing shops, I like Calafate the best. It's a true obsessionists cave. Web site here:

http://www.calafate.co.jp/

ICI-Ishii Sports has a reasonable assortment as well, and their Harajuku shop is quite convenient for many people. Main web page here:

http://www.ici-sports.com/main_top.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tokyo bill,

Hey Bill

Usual crowd going to be at the gym on Tues? I'd like to stop by and see folks before I leave Japan again.

-Peta

Hi Peta!

There's been some fluctuation in attendance, but the Tues./Thurs. schedule still holds. I'm actually coming down with a cold, I think; but if you're going to be there I will try to make it unless I really feel like death.

- Bill

If you're sick, stay home and get better.

I can't climb - dislocated my shoulder twice (kayaking) while in the US, giving it a bit of a break right now, but was planning to come by just to see folks... probably show up around 9-9:30 ish or so.

Hi Peta,

Yeah, sadly it looks like I'm out for tonight. My cold has come on pretty strong, and I also have to help one of the girls with a school homework project. However, Annalisa says she's planning to be there, and is hoping to see you.

Don't know who else will be around...

Take care of that shoulder!

- Bill

Hi everyone,

I'm a summer research student from Canada living in Tsukuba (40 km north of Tokyo) right now and am DYING to go outside to climb! I can get to Tokyo easily (I don't have a car). I'm mostly a boulderer, but I like routes too. The problem is I don't have my pad with me, and I only have a harness and ATC.

Would anyone be interested in taking me outside climbing in the weekends? I can lead belay!

Krys

P.S - Also, if anyone is up for venturing to find a good gym, there's a really good one up here in Tsukuba. It's got 15-18 meter long routes with good overhang angles. In my opinion, it's not a gym for beginners. The route grades go up to 5.14's. Bouldering dojo is every Thursday (very interesting by the way), you should definitely attend if you want to meet some insanely strong climbers!

Hey Krys,

I'm a bit involved in the run-up to getting my kids back to school, and so don't have any specific plans for climbing outside right now. (I've got the habit of getting in half-day top-rope solo sessions when I can't grab a full day, but that doesn't really count.)

There are regular gym sessions down here on weeknights and weekends, and you'd be welcome at any of those. If you need more info., let me know; but it sounds like you've already found an excellent gym.

In addition, I'll try to keep you posted on future outdoor plans. It'll get a bit easier in the fall, when the local areas are no longer to hot to be tolerable. How long will you be here?

- Bill