Sector Guide · Gyms and Trainers
English Google Maps and AI Checklist for Gyms and Personal Trainers in Tokyo
Someone new to Tokyo may ask Google Maps or AI for "an English-speaking gym" or a trainer near their station. If your listing is in Japanese only, those English searches may not match you.
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, doctors or fitness professionals, and we don't run a gym.
Looking for a gym or a trainer? We can't book you in; please contact the gym directly.
Fitness ads in Japan fall under Japan's general advertising law (景品表示法); ads for food or supplements also fall under the Health Promotion Act (健康増進法), and any claim that a product treats or prevents illness under the medicines law (医薬品医療機器等法).
For questions about your own ads, ask a lawyer.
The Short Answer
Make your English facts complete and consistent:
- Which classes and sessions you run
- Which trainers or classes work in English
- Your prices and what each one includes
- How to book a trial
- Your hours
- Where you are
Keep every claim factual.
Your Google profile, your English pages and your Japanese pages should say the same thing.
Not sure where you stand? Get a free snapshot or see a sample snapshot.
How People Search for an English-Speaking Gym
Someone new to Tokyo may search by station and language. Example searches (written by us for illustration, not taken from any data):
- "English-speaking personal trainer near Ebisu" on Google Maps.
- "Which gyms in Tokyo have English-speaking staff and a trial session?" in ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode.
- "Gym with English classes near Shibuya Station, open early" in Gemini.
If your listing is in Japanese only, with no English description, those English searches may not match you. A member who can't find your class times, prices or trial booking in English may book somewhere else.
Key Takeaway
The answer depends on the facts the assistant can find about each gym.
Why It Matters
- In one large study outside Japan, AI answers about local businesses named about 2 to 4 businesses on average. Source: BrightLocal, local AI visibility study (September 2026) and directory sources article (August 2026; same data; US, UK and Australia, not Japan).
- Business websites were the source of 42% of local AI citations in one study. Source: Same BrightLocal study as above.
- 52.3% of people in Japan aged 15 to 69 use generative AI to search. Source: CyberAgent GEO Lab, Japan survey, August 2026 (n=9,278).
Key Takeaway
If your English facts are thin, the answer may name someone else or get your details wrong.
The Facts AI and Members Look For
| Fact | Where It Should Appear | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name | Google profile | The real-world name, in one script only. No extra words such as "English OK" or "24/7": Google doesn't allow unnecessary information, service details or hours in the name |
| Classes and Sessions | Google services, website | Group classes, personal training, open gym. Pick the primary category that says what your business is, and as few extra categories as you need |
| Languages | Google profile description, website | Be specific and accurate: "Two trainers coach in English; group classes are in Japanese" is more useful than "English OK" |
| Prices | Website | Membership, joining fee, trial and session prices, stated plainly and the same as on your Japanese pages. Prices must not look better than they are, so show any condition right next to the figure |
| Trial and Booking | Website, Google booking link | How to book a trial in English, what to bring, and how long it takes |
| Hours | Google profile, website | The same everywhere. If some hours are unstaffed, say so |
| Location | Google profile, website | Nearest station exit, floor and entrance |
| Membership Terms | Website | Minimum period and how to cancel, in plain English |
| Trainers Who Visit Clients | Google service area, website | Only if you train people at home or in parks. Google says a service area should stay within about 2 hours' drive |
Rules for Claims, Food and Prices
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Claims About Results Need Proofsource 1 | Keep reasonable evidence for any claim about how good your service is or what it achieves: if the Consumer Affairs Agency asks, you must show it within a set time, or the claim is treated as misleading. Treat English pages, posts and profile text like Japanese ones: the law is not limited to ads in Japanese. | Making a service look much better than it is: the law bans it, and weight-loss figures and before-and-after photos count as much as text. |
| We don't write body-change, weight-loss or health claims. | ||
| Training Is Not Treatment | — | Our advice: leave out lines like "fixes back pain": training is not medical treatment. |
| Food and Supplementssource 2 | — | Food ads about health effects that are far from the facts or very misleading: the ban applies to anyone who advertises food, not only the maker. |
| Food Is Not Medicinesource 3 | — | Saying a food treats, cures or prevents an illness: a product sold with that claim can count as an unapproved medicine, and ads for unapproved medicines are banned. Claims that a food changes how the body works, such as "burns fat": they can be caught too, so use only the wording on the product's own label, and nothing more. |
| Prices and Offerssource 4 | Keep English and Japanese prices the same, with any condition next to the figure. | Membership fees, joining fees or trial prices that look much more favorable than they are: the law bans it. |
Sources for This Section (4)
- 景品表示法 第5条第1号, 第7条第2項.
- 健康増進法 第65条.
- 医薬品医療機器等法 第2条第1項, 第68条.
- 景品表示法 第5条第2号.
Key Takeaway
No body-change or health claims, and prices with their conditions.
Rules for Your Profile and Reviews
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Google Profile Limits | Keep the description to 750 characters, about your business, not promotions or prices. | Links in the description. See our English Google profile guide. |
| Reviewssource 1 | Ask every member the same way for honest feedback, with no reward, and never only the happy members. | Rewarding reviews with free sessions, discounts, drinks or trainer quotas: a rewarded review can count as your own advertising (ステマ規制). |
| Review Replies | Thank reviewers in general terms. | Confirming that someone is a member, or mentioning their body, weight, health or goals. |
Sources for This Section (1)
- ステマ規制 (stealth-marketing rule), in force since 2023-10-01; Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan (stealth marketing Q&A).
Key Takeaway
No rewards for reviews, and general replies.
Rules for Member Photos
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Member Photossource 1 | Handle any photo in which a person can be identified as personal information: under Japan's privacy law, it is. Ask again before you reuse a photo somewhere new: the consent you got may cover only the use you asked about. | Member photos without their consent: Japan's Supreme Court has recognized a legal interest in not having your face and figure photographed without good reason. |
| Children's Photos | — | Our rule: for kids' classes, no children's photos or names without written consent from their parents, collected by the gym. |
| Photos and Stories You Use | Use only photos you took or have the rights to. Our advice: in FAQs and posts, use invented examples, never a real member's story. | — |
Sources for This Section (1)
- Supreme Court of Japan, 2005-11-10 (最高裁 平成17年11月10日); Personal Information Protection Commission, general guidelines (通則編) 2-1.
Key Takeaway
No member photos without consent, and no children's photos without a parent's written consent.
How We Work With Gyms
- What We Do
- We keep your English facts right: classes, prices, trial booking and hours, and the category English searchers see under your name.
- That includes categories, services, attributes, hours and holiday hours, and your service area if you have one.
- We write a description in English and Japanese.
- We add up to 10 of your photos with captions, with no member in them who hasn't agreed.
- We reply to your reviews, in the reviewer's language.
- With the monthly retainer, we draft one English FAQ or service page a month for your website about how you work: classes, languages, prices, trials, what to bring.
- Our AI work is in English. The Japanese side is limited to your Maps listing.
- What We Don't Do
- We don't publish anything until you approve it: profile text, pages and reply templates.
- We don't write health, medical or body-change claims, and we don't give contract or legal advice. Anything about health effects, injuries, nutrition or membership terms comes from you, and you check it.
- We work with Manager access to your Google profile, never your password, and we never handle member files.
See Services for prices and terms, what Step 1 and the monthly retainer include, and the work guarantee.
Common Questions
Can We Add "English OK" or "24/7" to Our Google Business Name?
No. Google doesn't allow unnecessary information, service details or hours in the name, and the name stays exactly as it is in the real world.
Say it in your description, your hours and on your website instead.
Can We Post Before-and-After Photos of Our Members?
We don't write or post them.
A before-and-after photo is a claim about results, which needs evidence under Japan's advertising law, and it shows a member, which needs their consent. Our rule is no body-change claims.
Can We Give a Free Session for a Google Review?
No. Google's rules ban rewards for reviews, and a rewarded review can count as your own advertising in Japan.
Ask every member the same way for honest feedback, with nothing in return.
Can You Promise More Members?
No. Nobody can honestly promise member numbers or a place in AI answers.
We guarantee the work, not the result, and we report how often AI names you out of a stated number of answers. See how we measure.
How Should We Reply to a Review That Mentions Weight Loss?
Thank them, but keep it general. Never confirm that someone is a member, and never repeat details about their body, weight or health.
General information, not legal advice.
See What AI Says About Your Gym
Send your gym name and Google Maps link. We ask ChatGPT and Google's AI two questions an English-speaking member would ask and check your listing. Free, no obligation. More: Who We Help, FAQ, and the full guide.
