Lessons in Tokyo - J-Pen (April 2023)

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Hi,

I am travelling to Tokyo in April for 2 weeks, and would like to improve especially my backhand topspin and body/front return-block - I am looking for a J-Pen coach/TT club in the city center or nearby vicinity. Suggestions/links are much appreciated...

I am Danish, living in Gdansk Poland, and there are absolutely no one playing J-Pen in my area, so much of my style is self tought from videos and books over the years - but I guess when travelling to the birthplace of the J-Pen blade, I must have real lessons from the masters... :) I am playing with Butterfly Cypress G-Max and Darker Speed 25PI at an upper intermediate level (USATT +/-1800)...

Thanks, and I hope to get a few pointers...

Haagne
 
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you can try :

Yoyo Takkyu

there are several penholders there:
Yoyo KAWAGUCHI is the head coach, he was once in the last 8 in the national champs.

TATEOKA is also a coach there, he's not as good but already good enough for you i guess.
I've seen Kai YOSHIDA (renamed ONISHI since he married), former Japan #1 before MIZUTANI, also coaching there, but i don't know if he still does. haven't seen his name on the schedule.
(there are some other famous coaches at Yoyo like FUJINUMA, FUJII, WAKAMIYA who were ex-female JNT players who participated in world champs)

at Shakehands
Tsubasa MORIYA is a penholder. same level than TATEOKA.

T-Crown
you have the father of pro-player Masataka MORIZONO playing. He is a leftie penholder. He wasn't as good as his son but still won titles in high school and corporate league.
(his daughter Misaki MORIZONO an ex-pro and JNT player is also coaching there but she's a shakehands short pimple player)

ISEKI LAND
Seiko ISEKI is a former world champ from China who took the Japanese citizenship. he has his school but not sure he is still coaching there, especially since he became a coach for LIN Yun-ju. there is not enough info on the HP. ISEKI is a penholder.

PS. i have no idea whether the persons above do speak english or not, probably not.

otherwise, not penholders but you can play with Kenta MATSUDAIRA here:

and i have to recommend the school where i go and my coach Hidetoshi OYA:

both are junior world champs (indiv+team MK / team HO)
 
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Feb 2023
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you can try :

Yoyo Takkyu

there are several penholders there:
Yoyo KAWAGUCHI is the head coach, he was once in the last 8 in the national champs.

TATEOKA is also a coach there, he's not as good but already good enough for you i guess.
I've seen Kai YOSHIDA (renamed ONISHI since he married), former Japan #1 before MIZUTANI, also coaching there, but i don't know if he still does. haven't seen his name on the schedule.
(there are some other famous coaches at Yoyo like FUJINUMA, FUJII, WAKAMIYA who were ex-female JNT players who participated in world champs)

at Shakehands
Tsubasa MORIYA is a penholder. same level than TATEOKA.

T-Crown
you have the father of pro-player Masataka MORIZONO playing. He is a leftie penholder. He wasn't as good as his son but still won titles in high school and corporate league.
(his daughter Misaki MORIZONO an ex-pro and JNT player is also coaching there but she's a shakehands short pimple player)

ISEKI LAND
Seiko ISEKI is a former world champ from China who took the Japanese citizenship. he has his school but not sure he is still coaching there, especially since he became a coach for LIN Yun-ju. there is not enough info on the HP. ISEKI is a penholder.

PS. i have no idea whether the persons above do speak english or not, probably not. But most importantly, you can work on your skills as a team. It is clear that self-study is easier to organize, but while researching the topic of teamwork, I came across this paper https://studydriver.com/teamwork-essay/ in which the authors describe the pros and cons of each method. For myself, I decided that the ideal balance would be a combination of classes. But believe me, no one shadow practice or any other exercise alone, will bring you as much benefit as teamwork.

otherwise, not penholders but you can play with Kenta MATSUDAIRA here:

and i have to recommend the school where i go and my coach Hidetoshi OYA:

both are junior world champs (indiv+team MK / team HO)
Over the past three years, I have traveled to Tokyo several times for work but did not see this as an opportunity to improve some skills. Thanks for the detailed answer.
Edit: I contacted Shakehands and we had a great conversation. I think I'll try to train there. Thanks.
 
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