"Bouldering" is a sport that is gaining momentum, as it has been selected as a new sport for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Japanese athletes are competing in world championships.

​Bouldering House KNOT, where you can enjoy bouldering, opened in March 2018 in Endoji shopping district. This time, we will fully introduce the charm of KNOT, from the reason why the shop was born to the actual bouldering experience report.

KNOT is located in Endoji shopping arcade, about a 20-minute walk from Nagoya Station. It is the oldest shopping street in Nagoya. Although it is located in the city center between Nagoya Station and Marunouchi, it retains a retro atmosphere that retains the downtown atmosphere.

Making bouldering a more accessible sport

Mr. and Mrs. Suzawa, owner of KNOT

First, we interviewed the owner, Mr. Suzawa.

ー What made you decide to start KNOT?

Mr. Suzawa: “Bouldering has been an official event since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and has been attracting a lot of attention in recent years. However, I didn’t want it to end as just a boom. I wanted people to enjoy bouldering more casually, so I decided to create a bouldering shop rooted in the local community, which was the reason for the birth of KNOT.

At the same time, we also wanted to revitalize the shopping district. Bouldering is all-weather, can be done anytime, and has no age, gender, or handicap barriers. It's a sport that anyone can try, so it's a great way to interact."

First, let the community know about it! "Crowdfunding"

Countdown to end of crowdfunding

Mr. Suzawa and Mr. Tao, who runs the "NAGONOYA Annex"

KNOT renovated the former Sakaedo, which was originally an electric shop. It was born by renovating a wooden building that was built about 50 years ago. It seems that the renovation fund of 10 million yen was collected by crowdfunding.

ー Why did you start crowdfunding?

Mr. Suzawa: “Crowdfunding started with the idea of Mr. Tao, who runs the attached guest house, NAGONOYA Bekkan. Of course, we wanted to raise funds, but the main purpose was to let the local people know that we were doing this. The goal is 10 million yen in 60 days. At first, I had a hard time because I couldn't gather at all, but with the support and support of the local people, I was able to complete the event with only two days remaining. ”

This crowdfunding has become a hot topic for its unique rewards such as “Bouldering Gym Lifetime Free” and “Egg Sandwich Lifetime Free”.

Aiming for a comfortable bouldering gym

From the door facing the shopping street, you can see the inside, so it's easy to enter. Local elementary school children sometimes come.

Resting space. You can go in and out of the facility, so you can enjoy leisurely bouldering, such as going to the shopping street for a meal.

Old materials from the renovation are used for the counter.

ー Please tell us about the concept of KNOT.

Mr. Suzawa:"The concept is 'a comfortable space'. When bouldering, you spend more time resting and thinking about how to climb than you do climbing. Therefore, we aimed to create a space where users feel as comfortable as possible. Also, since bouldering is originally a sport of climbing natural rocks, we used a variety of woods to create an outdoor atmosphere.

KNOT is renovating a 50-year-old wooden building, but we tried to preserve the original atmosphere as much as possible. The counter is made of old materials that were found during the renovation, and the beams on the ceiling are left as they are. ”