Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
17
TICKET AGENCIES
To buy tickets for theatre performances, concerts and sporting events, it's simplest to head to
the venue in advance. However, using one of the ticket agencies listed below may save a lot of
time. In addition, major events sell out quickly and don't expect to be able to buy tickets at the
venue door unless you do so some time beforehand. All of the online ticketing agencies below
have Japanese-only websites, and English is rarely spoken at their ticket booths - the best plan
is to get a Japanese speaker to assist you.
CN Playguide
W
cnplayguide.com.
Japanese-only
website covering almost all major events.
Lawson
W
l-tike.com.
A convenience-store chain with
thousands of branches across the country, and hundreds
in Tokyo alone. Tickets can be purchased from machines.
Ticket Pia
W
t.pia.co.jp.
Branches can be found in
shopping malls and department stores in main city
areas such as Ginza, Shinjuku and Shibuya.
TRADITIONAL THEATRE
The easiest of Japan's traditional performance arts for foreigners to enjoy are
kabuki
and the puppet theatre of
bunraku,
which predates kabuki but whose plays share many of the same storylines. If you don't want to sit through a full
performance, which can last up to four hours, single-act tickets are often available. With its highly stylized, painfully slow
movements and archaic language,
nō
, the country's oldest form of theatre, isn't as appealing, though some find the
rarefied style incredibly powerful.
Kyōgen
, short satirical plays with an earthy humour and simple plots, liven up the
intervals. Take advantage of hiring recorded commentaries in English at the theatre to gain a better understanding of
what's happening on stage. Subtitles displayed on a screen beside the performers (or, at the National Theatre, on the back
of each seat) are also sometimes used. Apart from the lines being spoken, information on the background of the story and
the characters is also provided.
Cerulean Tower Nō Theatre
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26-1 Sakuragaoka-chō, Shibuya-ku
T
03 3477 6412;
Shibuya station.
In the basement of the luxury
Cerulean
Tower
hotel, this theatre provides an elegant setting for
both professional and amateur nō and
kyōgen
perfor-
mances (tickets typically ¥3500 and up).
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Kabukiza
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6-18-2 Ginza, Chūō-ku
T
03
3541 2600,
W
kabuki-bito.jp; Higashi-Ginza station.
The long-awaited reopening of Tokyo's oldest and largest
kabuki theatre took place in 2013, and this is the best place
to head if you're at all interested in catching a performance.
Getting a ticket (¥4000-22,000), on the other hand, can
be tricky; they usually become easier to buy after the
fifteenth of each month. Single-act tickets (¥800-2000)
are available on the door for those who don't want to
commit to a whole performance.
Kanze nō-gakudō
؍ੈೳָಊ
1-16-4 Shōtō,
Shibuya-ku
T
03 3469 5241; Shibuya station.
The home
theatre of Kanze, the best-known of Tokyo's several nō
troupes, and one of the city's most traditional nō theatres.
Tickets from ¥2000.
National Nō Theatre
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4-18-1 Sendagaya,
Shibuya-ku
T
03 3230 3000,
W
www.ntj.jac.go.jp;
Sendagaya station.
Hosts nō performances several times
a month, with tickets starting at around ¥2500. Printed
English explanations of the plot help make some sense of
what's going on.
National Theatre
ࠃཱܶ
4-1 Hayabusachō,
Chiyoda-ku
T
03 3230 3000,
W
www.ntj.jac.go.jp;
Hanzōmon station.
In its two auditoria, Tokyo's National
Theatre puts on a varied programme of traditional theatre
and music, including kabuki,
bunraku
, court music and
dance. English-language earphones and programmes are
available. Tickets start at around ¥1500 for kabuki and
¥4500 for
bunraku
.
Shimbashi Enbujō
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6-18-2 Ginza, Chūō-ku
T
03 3541 2600; Higashi-Ginza station.
This large
theatre stages a range of traditional dance, music and
theatre, including the “Super-kabuki” (kabuki with all the
bells and whistles of modern musical theatre). Single act
tickets for regular kabuki performances range from ¥800
to ¥1500 depending on the length of the act.
CONTEMPORARY AND INTERNATIONAL THEATRE
Camp as a row of tents, the most unique theatrical experience you can have in Tokyo is Takarazuka (see box opposite), the
all-singing, all-dancing, all-female revue which appears occasionally at the Takarazuka Theatre (see opposite). If your
Japanese is up to it, you'll find plenty of modern Japanese dramas to enjoy: look out for productions by chelfitsch (see
opposite), or anything by the director Ninagawa Yukio, famous for his reinterpretations of Shakespeare. Overseas theatre
companies often appear at the Tokyo Globe or Shinjuku's New National Theatre, though seats sell out months in advance
for the bigger names.
