If you want to swim or use a training room on your own — no club, no team — this guide compares four city and town sports facilities: two in Kumamoto City, one in Kikuyo Town and one in Ozu Town. The Key facts at the end of this page show the exact hours, prices and what to bring for each facility.
In short
- Only the two Kumamoto City facilities have a pool you can swim in on your own.
- All four have a training room. In Kumamoto City you just buy a ticket on the day; in Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town you register as a user before your first visit.
- Aqua Dome’s 50 m main pool is closed for the rest of the 2026 season after the July 2026 earthquake; its 25 m pool is open.
- Ozu Town’s training room is only for people aged 16 and over, and its arenas are closed after the earthquake.
- None of the four says whether staff speak English, so ask before you go.
Checked with official pages on 27 September 2026.
1. Which one should I choose?
Depends on the facility
| Facility | Pool / training room | Booking | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aqua Dome Kumamoto | 25 m pool all year (50 m pool closed for summer 2026). Training room. | No booking. Buy a ticket on the day. | 096-358-2711 |
| Kumamoto City General Gymnasium | Indoor heated 25 m pool with a children’s pool. Training room and a sports sauna. | No booking. Buy a ticket on the day. | 096-385-1010 |
| Kikuyo Town General Gymnasium | No pool. Training room, plus arenas and rooms you can hire. | Register as a user on your first visit; then buy a training-room ticket, or book an arena. | 096-288-7885 |
| Ozu Town General Gymnasium | No pool. Training room (age 16+). Arenas closed after the July 2026 earthquake. | Register as a user on your first visit; then pay per session, or apply in advance for an arena. | 096-293-8088 |
If you want to swim, only the two Kumamoto City facilities have a pool. If you are bringing children who are not yet in school, they must come with a parent or guardian who also wears swimwear, at both pools. If you want to use a training room, all four have one. In Kumamoto City there is no booking, and both facilities list their training-room fee for high school age and over (at Aqua Dome, junior high school students should ask at the counter). Ozu Town’s training room is for people aged 16 and over. Both Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town charge people from outside the town more, and Ozu’s training room closes earlier on Sundays and public holidays.
2. The facilities, one by one
2.1 Aqua Dome Kumamoto (アクアドームくまもと)
Aqua Dome Kumamoto, also called Kumamoto City Indoor Pool (熊本市総合屋内プール), is a public pool in Minami Ward, Kumamoto City. The 25 m sub pool is open all year; it reopened on 30 August 2026 after the earthquake. The 50 m main pool normally opens in summer and becomes a skating rink in winter. In 2026 the main pool is being used as a relief-supply center after the July earthquake, and it is closed for the rest of the season. Upstairs there is a training room with machines and free weights, for people of high school age and older (junior high school students should ask at the counter first).
You buy a ticket at the ticket machine — it shows the time you must leave, and that time includes showering and changing — and take it to the pool front desk or the training room. You do not need to book. If you pay by PayPay for the pool, go straight to the pool front desk instead of the machine. Prepaid cards are not on sale for now, and the ticket machines are being replaced around October 2026. Everyone must wear a swimsuit and a swim cap in the pool and shower first. Kumamoto City residents aged 70 or over and people with a disability certificate may not have to pay; bring your card and show it each time.
Address: 2-1-1 Arao, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 096-358-2711
Official website (Japanese only)
2.2 Kumamoto City General Gymnasium (熊本市総合体育館)
Kumamoto City General Gymnasium, also called Nurse Power Arena (ナースパワーアリーナ), is a city sports center in Chuo Ward. For individual use there is a training room with strength machines and dumbbells, an indoor heated 25 m pool with a separate children’s pool, and a sports sauna. The pool has different hours in summer (July to September) and the rest of the year.
Buy a single ticket or a book of 11 tickets at the machine, and show it at the counter — there is no booking, so you share the machines and lanes with others. You must wear a swimsuit and a swim cap in the pool, and indoor sports shoes inside the building. The gymnasium lists the training-room and sauna fees for high school age and over; ask before you go if you plan to bring a younger teenager. Kumamoto City residents aged 70 or over and people with a disability certificate do not pay for the pool or the training room (the sauna is not included); show your card or certificate each time.
Note
Both Kumamoto City facilities are open, but the city says they may close at short notice for earthquake relief work. Check the facility’s notices before you go.
Address: 2-7-1 Izumi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 096-385-1010
Official website (Japanese only)
A post (in Japanese, September 2025) from the foundation that runs the gymnasium, introducing Nurse Power Arena as the first in its series on the facilities it manages.
View this post on Instagram
2.3 Kikuyo Town General Gymnasium (菊陽町総合体育館)
Kikuyo Town General Gymnasium, in the Haramizu area of Kikuyo Town, has a main arena, a sub arena, a studio, a training room and meeting rooms. There is no pool. If you want to exercise on your own, the training room is the part to use; the arenas, studio and rooms are booked and rented by the hour.
Note
People who live outside Kikuyo Town can use the training room too, but they pay double. If your resident record is outside the town but you work or study in Kikuyo, bring an employee or student ID when you register.
Register as a user at the gymnasium before your first visit to the training room, then buy a ticket (one ticket covers 2 hours; a book of 11 is also sold). To book an arena or room, use the town’s online facility booking system linked from the gymnasium page; if more than half of a group lives outside the town, the rent is three times the usual price. After a booking-system change on 1 August 2026, people registered on the newer system must register again at the counter. The town’s pages do not say what to wear in the training room or whether there is an age limit; ask before you go.
Address: 5352-3 Haramizu, Kikuyo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 096-288-7885
Official page (Japanese; Google machine translation linked from the town site)
A Kikuyo Town PR channel video (in Japanese) in which the town mascot Caroppy tours the new town gymnasium.
2.4 Ozu Town General Gymnasium (大津町総合体育館)
Ozu Town General Gymnasium stands in Ozu Town Sports Park (大津町運動公園), also called Sports no Mori Ozu. It has a main arena, a sub arena, a running course and a training room with cardio, stretching and free-weight equipment. There is no pool.
Important
The training room is only for people aged 16 and over. It also closes earlier on Sundays and public holidays than on other days, and the gymnasium is closed on Tuesdays.
On your first visit, register at the counter with something that shows your address, and you get a user card. Prices are different for town residents and people from outside the town. Since the July 2026 earthquake, the main and sub arenas have been closed until further notice; the training room is open as usual. When the arenas reopen, you book by calling or visiting the office, then handing in the application form within one week and at least 3 days before use; groups from outside the town pay three times the price.
Address: 1000 Mori, Ozu Town, Kumamoto Prefecture · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 096-293-8088
Official page (Japanese; Google machine translation linked, town says it may not be accurate)
3. How to start
- Check the hours and closing day in the Key facts at the end of this page.
- Pack a swimsuit and a swim cap if you plan to swim. Both Kumamoto City pools require a cap. At Kumamoto City General Gymnasium, also bring indoor sports shoes.
- In Kumamoto City, buy a ticket at the machine and take it to the counter or front desk. You do not need to book.
- In Kikuyo Town or Ozu Town, register as a user at the gymnasium on your first visit, and bring ID that shows your address (in Kikuyo, also an employee or student ID if you only work or study there). In Ozu you get a user card.
- Watch the time. One training-room ticket covers 2 hours at all four facilities. In Kumamoto City you pay extra if you stay longer, and at Aqua Dome the 2 hours include showering and changing.
4. Can I get help in English?
The websites of all four facilities are in Japanese. The Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town sites link to Google machine translation, and Ozu Town says the translation may not be accurate. None of the four says whether staff speak English, so ask before you go; the phone numbers are in section 2.
Sources (checked 25 September 2026)
- Aqua Dome Kumamoto official website (and its price and pool/training-room PDF pages)
- Kumamoto City page linking to Aqua Dome and the General Gymnasium
- Kumamoto City General Gymnasium (Nurse Power Arena) official website
- Kikuyo Town General Gymnasium official page
- Kikuyo Town: facility booking and fees
- Ozu Town General Gymnasium official page
- Ozu Town: general facility booking information
