Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, business had never been better for Japan¡¯s climbing gyms.
¡°The inclusion of climbing in the Olympics brought a lot of good things,¡± explains Yuji Hirayama, a climbing legend and owner of Base Camp climbing gyms. ¡°People started to see climbers on TV and in advertisements, which brought many new customers.¡±
Hirayama has won the climbing World Cup twice ¡ª in 1998 and 2000 ¡ª and is widely regarded as the greatest Japanese climber of all time. ¡°In the 80s, when I started climbing, there were no gyms. I had to train on castle walls,¡± he laughs.
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