Tip X Tokyo Shinjuku

「Yelp 100 Challenge 2016 — 東京」#2
This is the Tipness/​Tip X (pronounced «Tip Cross») branch that I go to the most often because it’s a short walk from my office and open until 11 p.m. on weekdays. It’s my destination of choice when I’m having a really stressful day and need to work out my rage by lifting heavy objects.
If you have social health insurance with TJK, you can sign up for a pay-​as-​you-​go plan and avoid dealing with a monthly membership fee. It comes to ¥1,030/visit, which sounds a bit pricey, but you don’t have to worry about feeling like you’ve wasted money when life happens and you get too busy to go to the gym.
The Shinjuku branch is located on floors 5, 6, and 7 of the building. After checking in on 5 °F, go up the stairs on the left to the 6 °F for the locker rooms. There’s a coat rack with individual locking hangers just outside the changing rooms in case you arrive with a big coat. Grab a locker, change (keep your shoes off in the changing room area; wait till you get back to the locker room entrance to put them on), then head back down to 5 °F for the main gym area or up to the 7 °F for the pool. The layout’s a bit wonky, but you get used to it.
There are plenty of treadmills, which have a clear view of the big Shinjuku West crossing and the street leading up to Kabukicho. There’s also a big screen above the crossing that plays music videos and stuff, which is a good distraction during a run. The stretching area has one side with regular mats and one side for «hot stretching» with heated mats.
In the free weight area, there are two power racks and two smith machines and fewer people who lift (especially on weekday evenings), so it isn’t so hard to get a rack here compared to, say, the Roppongi or Shibuya locations. One other advantage of the Shinjuku branch is that there are plenty of mirrors in every area of the gym in case you want to check your form or, in my case, sneak in a bit of dance practice between weight lifting sets. The gym stays open 15 – 20 minutes after business hours end so you have time to take a quick shower even at 11 p.m.
As Alex D. mentioned, they don’t have an onsen bath (you’ll have to go to the Higashi Shinjuku location for that), and the saunas aren’t in the locker room so you need a bathing suit. That’s the only thing really that makes Tip X Shinjuku a less than 5-​star location for me. But otherwise, I highly recommend it.

Although I have the All Kanto pass and can go to any Tipness, my regular one is this one. Compared to the regular Tipness brand, Tip X seems newer and cleaner. Also, there are plenty of staff around to help and are very friendly (unlike some of the other branches where you have to search for a staff member and they aren’t helpful at all; I’m looking at you Shimokitazawa).
The studio classes are also unique to the Tip X brand. I really like spinning, TRX, and HIIT Box. They can be quite popular in the evening though, so arrive early.
Whereas Tipness seems geared toward the more casual exerciser, Tip X includes them, plus has something for people a little more hardcore. The free weight area is much bigger than others.
One downside is unlike most of the other branches, Tip X doesn’t have a public bath in the locker room, which would be nice sometimes after a workout. They do have a sauna, but it’s in the pool area, so if you want to use it, bring a swimsuit. Also, the monthly fee is quite expensive, but I think it’s worth it.
Overall, I highly recommend the gym from people looking to get that six pack (like me, someday) to those just looking to get in shape. I’ve never taken a private lesson, but from observing, the trainers seem friendly and knowledgable.