Aikido School In Japan

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[Ali Raja]

Which top 5 best Aikido schools are there in Japan? and in which city are they located? I want to move out from Norway, and learn Aikido for self defence in Japan.

[Michael Hackett]

There are great Aikido schools throughout Japan. It would seem best to choose an area, a city, a region where you could live comfortably and then find the right dojo there. Personally I think I would look closely at Kyoto. Not only are there terrific Aikido dojo there, Kyoto is a magnificent city, both modern and historical. There could easily be a hundred similar comments from other members of AikiWeb detailing different locations and dojo.

[Carl Thompson]

Hello Ali,

I don't think I could pick 5, but my top 3 are all in Ibaraki prefecture:

1) Ibaraki Branch Dojo (Doshu, Waka Sensei and local students of Osensei)
2) Toride Fujishiro Dojo (Isoyama Shihan 8th dan - student of Osensei)
3) Kasama Dojo (Akimoto Sensei 5th dan - student of Osensei)

I came to Japan a number of years ago with no idea of what the 'best' aikido was, but I thought I should start by finding teachers who trained with Osensei. So, I went to Osensei's dojo in former Iwama Town, present day Kasama City, Ibaraki, which at that time was headed by Isoyama Shihan (who remains executive advisor). A few years down the line and I'm still here. I'd highly recommend it.

My original second choice would have been the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo, but in recent years, Waka Sensei took over as dojo-head in Iwama, so we get to train with him (or a substitute) once per week and Doshu on Saturdays. We essentially get the best of both worlds.

Regards

Carl

[JJF]

Which top 5 best Aikido schools are there in Japan? and in which city are they located? I want to move out from Norway, and learn Aikido for self defence in Japan.

I could make a list of my favourit dojos but based on your Posts here I feel they wouldn't satisfy your wishes.

Maybe Shirakawa Sensei would be able to show you some things. https://senseiaikido.com/2017/06/ryuji-shirakawa/

But I have no idea if he would accept you as a student.

Honestly I think what you look for is like 'real aikido' in serbia or rouge warrior in the US..

Good luck