Keeping fit in Japan
 

I was wondering, what sports are popular over in japan and are easy to get into. For example here in paris, i stay fit(ish) by playing basketball at the local parks... no need to pay, just go whenever i want etc...

Is this the case in japan? are there parks for basketball/football etc!! if not..... how much does a gym membership cost on average?

all above questions are designated to cities only, ie, tokyo/osaka/kyoto...

I don't play basketball and soccer now, so I don't know detail.
But, almost all school and college in Japan has basketball club and soccer club.
People who play soccer and basketball is a lot.
I think sports that is most popular in Japan are baseball, soccer, tennis and basketball.

Is bowling popular in japan?
In many mangas and animes (like Lucky Star to name the most recent one I saw) characters go to bowling clubs and they are quite crowded, so I always thought that bowling is very popular in japan.

There is many place where people can play bowling:)
People enjoy with friends playing bowling and karaoke(sorry. karaoke is not sports. but it's popular)

Baseball, Soccer and Tennis I think are the most famous sports right now. There are lots of sports you can get yourself into. Basketball is not that famous though and renting a court is a bit expensive, but if you are a student there are some univ/school that has courts/club to join into.

Bowling can be found in most amusement center, like Round One. Table Tennis too. There are lots of Batting Dome too, where you can practice your swinging technique.

getting fit in japan is not a problem :D

Every community has a community center that you can join. You can play many sports there and meet some people to play with. I'd like to add that volleyball and badminton are hugely popular as well. Honestly, just about every sport is popular in Japan. Schools focus a lot on sports from the elementary level all the way through high school.

Winter sports are really big like snowboarding, snowboarding, and some other "sport" where people riding on these pointy stick looking things while wearing tight clothing and carrying poles will get in the way of the snowboarders. I've heard some people call it skiing, but I've never heard of such a sport.

There aren't a lot of pickup games available in Japan, but there are groups / clubs you can sign up for and just about any sport is available (although you will have to pay to join). As far as gym memberships go, I think its about 7,000 yen a month or 500 yen per visit (at least at the one by where I live) Your best bet is to join a club that meets weekly and play with them :D

oh yeah I forgot about badminton, I play badminton ( if I can) weekly. There is a sport center near my area, its only 200yen/person to rent a court and its good for 1.75 hours

there is also a swimming area , I think its around 700yen now, but there is no time limit and there is a spa and sauna inside, other swimming pools are around 200-300yen and is good for 1-3 hours

another is cycling. The naniwa cycling course , which is I think more than 10kms is good for cycling or jogging

also if you are in Osaka, there is the IOC ( international Outdoor club ) which does a lot of outdoor sports and they also have a sister club in Tokyo..

Thanks for all the replies!!! Something people havn't mentioned is martial arts... is this common amoung japanese? can you find many clubs to do karate?

a lot of people bowl, and play soccer.

theres places you can go to and play some pick up soccer games and stuff like that.

there like these astro turf fields, i forget where they are tho

i just go to the gym. its only 600 yen for the day