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

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 all-you-can-drink beverages while staff flaunting muscle-toned physiques put on a show, and others in bikinis smile through pull-ups and pole-dancing.