The "Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center" located in Nitta, Kurashiki City, closed on March 31, 2026.
I feel like it was commonly referred to as the "heated pool" during the 1980s when I was in elementary school. I have used it many times, and in recent years, I had been visiting the facility with my children.
I wanted to leave some record of it, so I visited on March 30, the day before its closure.
Here, I will introduce the "Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center" mainly through photographs.
What is the "Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center"?
The Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center was a year-round indoor heated pool facility certified by the Japan Swimming Federation located in Nitta, Kurashiki City.
It had the following facilities:
- 50m pool: 8 lanes (Japan Swimming Federation certified)
- 25m pool: 7 lanes (Japan Swimming Federation certified)
- Children's pool
- Training room, seminar room, spectator seating, etc.
It was usually operated as a municipal pool, and with low usage fees of 220 yen for adults, 160 yen for junior and senior high school students, and 110 yen for children aged 3 to elementary school, it was particularly popular during the summer.
While many pools operate only in the summer, the Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center was available year-round, which was also an attractive feature.
History of the Facility
The Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center was established in 1981 (Showa 56) as the Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Comprehensive Indoor Swimming Center.
The facility gained the most attention when it served as the venue for the Japan representative selection for swimming at the Seoul Olympics in June 1988.
Senator Daichi Suzuki (as of 2026) won by breaking his own Japanese record in the men's 100m backstroke and went on to win a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics.
It was later transferred from Okayama Prefecture to Kurashiki City in 2007, and has remained so to this day.
In recent years, it was used as a venue for swimming competitions in Okayama Prefecture and Kurashiki City, as well as for the women's water polo Japan national team's training camp (Tokyo 2020 Olympics, World Swimming Championships (2023/Fukuoka)).
However, around 2020, 40 years after its opening, signs of aging became noticeable.
Due to the always high temperature and humidity inside the facility, along with the use of chlorine for water quality management, there were issues such as concrete peeling and cracking, paint peeling, and rusting of steel frames, which were addressed through repairs.
Furthermore, from the fiscal year 2022, large-scale water leaks began to occur. Emergency waterproof repairs were conducted in July 2023, but since the expected lifespan was estimated to be about two years, it was decided to close the facility on March 31, 2026, and it closed as scheduled.
Photos of the "Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center"
Now, let's look back at the atmosphere of the Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center through photographs.
Exterior
Interior
Pool
Photography is usually prohibited in the pool.
This time, we have received permission to take photos.
Messages
As the closing date approaches, many messages have been collected from users.
Conclusion
I knew that it would close at the end of March, but I found out that it was the end of March 2026 on March 29. I hurriedly went to visit.
The "Kurashiki Indoor Swimming Center" is a facility that I visited many times during my childhood and have fond memories of. I wasn't particularly good at swimming, but I felt joy when I was finally able to swim in the 50m pool (there are height and swimming ability restrictions for children to enter since it is deep).
Later, after living in other cities, I learned during my university years that it is rare to have a 50m pool available for competitions within the city. I realized then that I had been in a fortunate environment.
Decades have passed since then, and when I visited with my child, I was surprised to find that it was in worse condition than I had expected. I thought it would somehow be extended through facility renovations, but it seems the damage was beyond what renovations could fix.
While it is unfortunate that it is closing, I have heard that a new indoor pool is currently under construction in Mizushima Ryokuchi Fukuda Park, which is expected to be completed by the 2027 fiscal year and to be available for use in the summer of 2027.
It seems that a new indoor pool will be completed in the not-so-distant future, so I look forward to it.
Kurashiki Architectural Journey Back Issues
Data of Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center
| Name | Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center |
|---|---|
| Address | 2458 Nitta, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | None, as it has closed |
| Homepage | Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center |
