Guide To Theaters In Tokyo

Kabuki is the type of Japanese theater most people are likely to know. If you want to see Kabuki today, you have three main choices, Shochiku’s Kabukiza in Ginza, The National Theatre or Shinbashi Enbujo .

Kabuki

Kabukiza Theatre

4.5

1016 Reviews

Tokyo Chuou-ku Ginza 4-12-15

0335456800

Depends on the performance

View All

Go here

Quintessa Hotel Tokyo Ginza

4-11-4, Ginza, Chuo-ku Tokyo

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

National Theatre

4.0

26 Reviews

Tokyo Chiyoda-ku Hayabusachou 4-1

0332657411

Varies depending on the perf…

View All

Go here

Nest Hotel Tokyo Hanzomon

2-18 Hayabusacho, Chiyoda Tokyo

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Shinbashi Enbujo

4.0

106 Reviews

Tokyo Chuou-ku Ginza 6-18-2

0335412600

Varies depending on the perf…

View All

Go here

Kabuki is usually performed as a marathon program beginning in the morning and finishing in the late afternoon. But you can purchase so-called makumi tickets for single acts or the shorter performances that are part of the day’s schedule. These are cheaper and offer an appetiser before you commit to more.

A Kabuki performance is a rowdy affair, with plenty of applause, carefully timed calling-out from the audience, elaborate sets, and flamboyant make-up and costumes.

…the stories are bombastic and straightforward—and the melodrama irresistible

While the dialogue is poetic and hard even for native Japanese speakers to make out, the stories are bombastic and straightforward—and the melodrama irresistible.

Audiences will generally be older but there are always plenty of overseas tourists, and you can hire headsets offering audio guidance on the story and the various elements of the performances.

Older and less accessible than gaudy Kabuki is Noh and Japanese puppet theater.
– National Noh Theatre (Tokyo)
– National Bunraku Theatre (Osaka)
Bunraku is traditionally based in Osaka, though its company also tours to Tokyo’s National Theatre.

Noh and Bunraku

Compared to Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku are slower-moving events that require patience, but their unique beauty is undeniable.

National Noh Theatre

4.5

37 Reviews

Tokyo Shibuya-ku Sendagaya 4-18-1

0334231331

Varies depending on the perf…

View All

Go here

The biggest contemporary theater events are Festival/Tokyo and Kyoto Experiment, both of which usually take place for several weeks each over the autumn in their respective cities and feature line-ups of international performances and local talent.
Public theater and fringe theater productions generally play for a maximum of two weeks at a single venue. Commercial productions will run longer but only certain exceptions like “The Lion King” have open-ended runs.

For musicals, the Shiki Theatre Company is the most successful and popular troupe. It owns several theaters around Japan. The Takarazuka Revue also stages musicals but as all-female spectacles—very kitsch, but very Japanese!

For large-scale commercial plays and other performances, including touring overseas productions, you can always check out what’s playing at the Imperial Theater, Bunkamura, or Parco.

Shimokitazawa is the heart of Tokyo fringe theatre, with several small venues packed into the district.

Shimokitazawa

The neighborhood is the only place in Tokyo (or probably anywhere in Japan) where you can always see crowds of people gathering outside small theaters such as The Suzunari, to attend matinees and evening shows. The posters for the current performances (most change weekly) are displayed on boards and just a glance at these will show the vibrancy of the scene.

鈴なり横丁

東京都世田谷区北沢1丁目

View All

Go here

The only other district in Tokyo that can rival Shimokita is Ikebukuro

The only other district in Tokyo that can rival Shimokita is Ikebukuro, in the northwest of the city. It boasts the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, one of the capital’s three premier venues, as well as a fringe theatre complex (Theater Green, actually three tiny performance spaces crammed into one building) and another public theatre, Owlspot, run by the local ward.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre

Other major theater venues in Tokyo include the New National Theatre, Tokyo in Shinjuku, and the Setagaya Public Theatre and Theatre Tram, in Sangenjaya.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre

Tokyo Toshima-ku Nishikebukuro 1-8-1

0353912111

9:00-22:00

View All

Go here

Major new public theaters and facilities have also appeared in Kyoto and Yokohama in recent years and the regional cities have used these to establish their own cultural credentials. Today they are not just hosting performances on tour but also nurturing their own companies and festivals.

As the 2020 Olympic Games approach, we can expect more events and performance spaces to pop up around the country.