Fees and facilities of swimming pools and sports facilities

Fees and opening hours of sports facilities

Questions about fees and opening hours of sports facilities, such as swimming pools (プール, pūru, kolam renang) and gyms (ジム, jimu, gimnasium), test the ability to read an information table and then calculate the cost correctly. The word 料金(りょうきん, fee) means the amount that must be paid, 営業時間(えいぎょうじかん, operating hours) means the time range during which the facility can be used, and 休館日(きゅうかんび, facility closing day) means the day when the facility is closed. The first step is to check whether the day and time of the visit fall within the operating hours. A facility that is closed every 月曜日(げつようび, Monday) does not serve visitors on that day, whereas a visit on a Sunday afternoon still counts as long as the time is included in 営業時間.

Fees are usually calculated per person and per entry, written as 1回(いっかい, once) or 1回ごと(いっかいごと, each entry). To calculate the total, group the visitors by 区分(くぶん, category), multiply the fee for each category by the number of people in it, and then add all the results together. For example, two adults and two children are calculated as two times the adult fee plus two times the child fee.

Fees for each category often differ by day, namely 平日(へいじつ, weekdays) compared with 土曜・日曜・祝日(どようび・にちようび・しゅくじつ, Saturday, Sunday, and national holidays). For this reason, choose the column that matches the day of the visit before adding up the fees. For the high school student category, the weekend fee may be higher than the weekday fee, and the adult fee may also rise on weekends.

Operating hours may also be shorter on weekends, for example when the facility closes earlier on Saturday or Sunday, so a visit in the afternoon or evening must be checked against the closing time for that day.

Operating hours may be divided into several sessions, such as 午前(ごぜん, morning), 午後(ごご, afternoon until evening), and 夜(よる, night), with a break between them. Visits during the break cannot be served.

受付(うけつけ, reception desk) and 最終入場(さいしゅうにゅうじょう, last admission) often end before closing time, for example 30 minutes before the facility closes. Visitors who arrive after that limit will not be served.

If 休館日 falls on a national holiday, the closure is usually moved to the following day, and this rule is usually written as a note below the table.

Holiday rules may also take the form of a specific 期間(きかん, period). During that period, the facility is closed entirely, even though it would normally be open on ordinary days.

The note 無料(むりょう, free of charge) means that the visitor pays nothing at all. At some facilities, children in elementary school and younger (小学生以下, しょうがくせいいか) are exempt from fees, and in other announcements, older age groups are also exempt. A person who is free of charge is still counted as a visitor, but their fee is zero.

The limit 小学生未満(しょうがくせいみまん, under elementary school age) is not the same as 小学生以下. If only 小学生未満 is free, elementary school students are still charged the child fee.