THE TOKYO SESSIONS

On November 30th, the second edition of The Tokyo Sessions will take place at Monk Amsterdam. The Tokyo Sessions is a tribute to the famous B-Pump setting style from Japan. Katsu & Tsukuru are back, and this year they’ve brought reinforcements. None other than Kaito Watanabe will be joining the team of setters.

At The Tokyo Sessions, you get to experience what it’s like to climb in a Japanese bouldering gym. There will be a recreational category with 30+ boulders in the famous B-Pump style.

But if you want to compete against some of Japan’s top climbers like Yoshiyuki Ogata, Mao Nakamura, Sohta Amagasa, and Futaba Ito, there’s the Black Tape Session. A pro category where you can battle it out on the hardest boulders for a spot in the finals.

RECREATIONAL CATEGORY

The recreational category is for dedicated climbers who are curious about the Japanese setting style. There will be 30+ boulders built at varying levels, reaching up to 7C+ or even harder.

Since the Tokyo Sessions is a community event, there are no scorecards or winners in the recreational category.

As for the difficulty of the boulders, everyone is, welcome to participate. And we will do our best to keep it accessible for climbers of most levels. However, keep in mind that the boulders may be a bit tougher than usual. We recommend that you climb at least 6B to be able to experience a good portion of the boulders.

BLACK TAPE SESSION

The Black Tape Session is inspired by the notorious Black Tape boulders of Ogikubo, known for their extremely high difficulty level. These boulders push even the best climbers to their limits. For this competition, we aimed to raise the bar by setting harder problems than usual. But what does that look like?

PROJECTING
In the Black Tape Session, climbers earn points by projecting three extremely difficult boulders. From 09:00 to 16:00, they can work on each problem. Once they have mastered the boulder, they get four official attempts per problem to score points. Based on their progress, we will select four finalists in both the men’s and women’s categories. These athletes will face off in the Black Tape Finals.

THE BLACK TAPE FINALS

In the finals, the participants will climb the same boulders as earlier, but adjusted based on the results. If a boulder was too hard, it will be made slightly easier; if it was too easy, the problem will be made harder. The finals follow a session format, with all climbers together on the mat. They will have 15 minutes per boulder to see who gets the furthest. After each boulder, we will alternate between the women’s and men’s categories.

TICKETS

Just like last year, we’ve decided not to sell tickets. Everyone is welcome to join. However, if the gym is full, you may have to wait until there’s space. You can climb from 09:00 to 18:00, so there will be plenty of time and space for everyone. But if you want to secure a spot, we recommend arriving early.

!!! IMPORTANT !!!

If you’re not a Monk Member and you’ve never climbed at Monk before, sign up below so you won’t have to wait as long when you arrive.

Register here

SETTERS

KATSUAKI MIYAZAWA
OWNER B-PUMP OGIKUBO

TSUKURU HORI
CHIEF SETTER B-PUMP OGIKUBO

KAITO WATANABE
INTERNATIONAL SETTER

JAPANESE ATHLETES

FUTABA ITO

YOSHIYUKI OGATA

MOA NAKAMURA

SOHTA AMAGASE

PROGRAM

09:00     Deuren open / Doors open

16:00      Stop voor qualificatie atleten / Stop for athlete qualification

18:30     Stop voor recreanten / stop for recreationals

17:00 – 19:00     Tijd voor eten bij foodtrucks / Time to get food at foodtrucks 

19:30     Start Black Tape Session Finale / Start Black Tape Session Finale

21:30     Einde Finale / End of Finals

21:30 – ???     After session

THE TOKYO SESSIONS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY: