Japanese coach Terri Johnston told the Otago Daily Times there was a skating rink in Tokyo which was used by beginner curlers, but it was only available for a short period each week.
"Property prices are very high in Tokyo and we have not been able to get funds for an ice stadium," Johnston said.
The Japanese Government's focus and money are on its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.
Serious curlers in the city must make a three-hour car journey to the mountains around Nagano, the venue for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
"We play games there twice a month but we don't have any time to practise," Johnston said.
There was a boom in curling in Japan after the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006, when other Japanese sports teams exited the competition early.
"The big television focus went on the Japanese women's curling team that was competing at its third Olympic Games," Johnston said.
The Japanese team is in Dunedin for the senior world championships, the second time it has taken part in the event.
It won three of its seven games and finished fifth on the table in the eight-team competition. When it last competed in the championships, in Edmonton in 2007, it lost all its games and finished bottom of the table.
The team members have known each other since their teenage years and have curled together for the past 19 years.
