Osaka Shochikuza Theatre — Attraction in Osaka

Really interesting from a cultural appreciation point of view, but overall I probably wouldn't recommend if you don't have any Japanese listening ability as no English support is provided beyond brief plot summaries.

Theater itself is beautiful and the acoustics are impeccable. Really easy to hear all of the dialogue and music. It's also somewhat warm and apparently it's normal for people to fall asleep during the show, as I spotted multiple audience members who had.

Tickets were 4000 yen a person for the upper deck. Evening show was split into three acts - a play, a dance, and another play. We only stayed for the first two acts. It's unfortunate but some of the dance is choreographed in a way that you literally just cannot see some of it if you sit in the upper deck, which annoyed me. I hope that's not the case for other dances they put on here.

I think I would be more inclined to recommend people to go if they sold the acts separately for maybe 2000 yen a piece. The first play was actually very good, even with just my very elementary Japanese...

Built in 1923, inspired by the Italian theaters in Milan and completing 100 years now in 2023 with several special celebrations, the Osaka Shochizuka theater was once a cinema and is now used for opera, the traditional Kabuki theater and for Shingeki, which is a kind of dramatic representation influenced by western molds. It was Japan's first concrete and steel structure cinema and ended its activities as a cinema in 1994 with the presentation of the film “Gone with the wind”! After renovations, it reopened in 1997 as a theater including musicals and concerts. The theater has 1033 seats spread over 3 floors. It is a historical and very special place in Dotonbori but unfortunately I see few foreign tourists visiting this place. Possibly because of the Japanese language, which makes it difficult to understand the theatrical pieces shown. But be that as it may, this location is at least worth your souvenir photo outside...

I saw a full kabuki show here and had a good time. I don't know very much Japanese, but I still had fun seeing a kabuki show. I love theater and it was a bit slow and my eyes were dropping at points, but worth checking out. Very other worldly, and different from western plays. Worth it if you have a flair for theater. I would recommend seeing the last 2 part act if you are coming the story is less rushed and much easier to follow if you don't know Japanese. Be warned this theater doesn't have computer translators to English only Japanese, and they sell a book with the lines in English for 1800 yen, but as a backpacker I couldn't fit it in my bag so I...