Japan’s ‘muscle girls’ look to crush norms of willowy beauty

TOKYO – A dozen women in sports bras and tight shorts stood behind a U-shaped counter at an underground bar in a busy Tokyo neighbourhood, chiselled frames on full display as they crushed grapefruit in unison with their bare hands.

Music blared and neon lights flickered against a hot-pink backdrop as customers at fitness-themed bar Muscle Girls whooped and cheered in a scramble to capture the ritual on smartphones.

“Most people in Japan generally consider women with small breasts, a slender back and skinny legs as attractive,” said Ms Hitomi Harigae, manager of the bar, which features only women performers. “The customers who come here are different.”

With its challenge to Japan’s conventional ideals of feminine beauty, the bar, which opened in mid-2020 and draws about 100 customers a day, the majority of them foreign tourists, has gone viral on social media.

A fee of 6,000 yen (S$50) for 80 minutes covers a protein drink and all-you-can-drink beverages while staff flaunting muscle-toned physiques put on a show, and others in leopard-print bikinis smile through pull-ups and pole-dancing. 

Customers can pay for extras, such as being hoisted up by the thighs.

“Femininity can be muscular; it doesn’t have to be defined by being dainty and small and quiet and not taking up space,” said Ms Aubrey Lee, a tourist from Los Angeles.

Among major developed nations, Japan has the highest share of underweight adult women, at about 9 per cent, or almost five times their counterparts in the United States and Germany, in terms of the body mass index, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says.

In 2025, a Japanese panel of doctors and academics studying obesity warned that the convention of equating women’s thinness with beauty leads to malnutrition and other health problems that need to be tackled.

But that norm is defied by the 30-odd women who work at Muscle Girls and are passionate about bodybuilding and CrossFit. Some show off six-packs that would shame many men.

“I remember to this day when I first realised that I was fine just as I was, and how my self-esteem shot up,” Ms Harigae, 38, said of her early days in the bar. 

For her, Muscle Girls is a godsend that fosters a sense of sisterhood as the women exchange diet and training tips. Even on days off, she goes to all-you-can-eat buffets and nail salons with colleagues.

Female bodybuilding has gained popularity in Japan in recent years, with competitions held in many cities. But outside that circle, the old conventions rule, Ms Harigae said.

“When I talk to friends from my school days, I still very much sense that they are wedded to those fixed ideas – they want to be thin,” she added.

However, those views, partially drawn from gender stereotypes, could be changing, even if slowly.

In a 2023 survey by think-tank Dentsu Soken, 38.2 per cent of respondents said “men should be manly and women should be womanly”, down from 43.7 per cent in 2021.

“Beauty in women isn’t just about being thin,” said Ms Yuka Moriya, who joined the bar in 2023 and is inspired by her co-workers, who are passionate about bodybuilding, pole dancing or simply being physically active.

“I wish more people would appreciate the beauty of muscle,” added the bodybuilder, who aspires to win competitions and eventually become the best in Japan. REUTERS