Hiroshima city has two climbing halls, pb climbing near Yokogawa station and Cero Climbing just East of Hiroshima station in Mokage. With some time to spare, I dropped by Cero climbing to see what was on offer, and was pleasantly surprised!
Open since 2003, Cero climbing is easily reachable from Hiroshima main station via 5 minute bus ride. The hall itself is located inside an industrial compound and while small in Western terms, it is spaced over two floors and is roomier than most gym’s I’ve visited while in Japan.
The ground floor houses the main climbing tower which reaches around 15m high. Surrounding the tower are vertical bouldering walls with mats mostly for beginners and children. I didn’t get a chance to try the climbing, however there doesn’t seem to be too much to choose from, and certainly the routes are short, so don’t expect to be training endurance here. There is also a serviceable campus board area for training power. Rounding out the floor is a facilities area for changing, coin lockers and chill out area.
The highlight for me was on the second floor, where the advanced bouldering wall is situated. There’s plenty of space here and some very nice overhanging slabs. They’ve obviously got some tough folks here, and while there are some easier problems, this is really the area for the hard movers. I really enjoyed the routes here, and they’ve obviously got some good people creating these. I don’t know how often they change the problems but there was more than enough to keep me occupied for two sessions.
As is standard in Japan, you’ll need to pay a registration fee of 1000 Yen to get your membership fee, then depending on how long you plan to climb, you’ll be paying between 1550 and 2060 Yen. You can higher equipment as required, including shoes and chalk bag, which is handy if you are just passing through on holiday.
All-in-all a nice place to stop for some climbing on your way through Hiroshima!
