The last trains have long gone and the stations are shuttered.
Outside, it's chilly and the streets are all but deserted. In a building in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, though, it's bright, hot and noisy. About 20 people pump iron, sweat on exercise bikes, and pound the treadmills while the music throbs and sports programs flicker on the wall-mounted televisions. Since it opened two years ago, Gold's Gym South Tokyo, one of the capital's first 24-hour sports gyms, has attracted an increasing number of late-night fitness seekers.
"They come from all over Tokyo," says manager Michiko Mitasaki. "They are working till late and didn't have anywhere to go to exercise after work. So we decided the logical answer was a 24-hour operation."