Kabuki-za — Attraction in Tokyo

On a bright Saturday morning, I made my way towards Ginza for the Kabuki theater in Tokyo. I haven’t seen a kabuki show before nor have I researched what that type of show was about. Surprise me!

Getting Tickets

Typically you have to buy tickets in advance or hope for standby tickets at the last minute. I had hope. They had tickets for the show starting at 11am but it was for the standing section. The show was 90 minutes and I didn’t want to wait a few hours for the next show in hopes for a seat. With a heart full of determination, I purchased a ticket 1500JPY and proceeded to the standing section.

I commonly get treated as a local when I’m in Japan or China. People will talk to me assuming I know what they’re saying. I normally think it’s not that important so I respond by nodding politely then continuing whatever the hell I was going to do with no regard of what the person just told me. That’s just how I roll.

Getting Seated

After being told a long set of instructions in Japanese before entering the theatre, I finally arrive at the standing area. It was situated at the very top of the theatre. You could actually not get a worse place to watch the show. It was so high up I thought I was actually going to get a nosebleed. The stage performers sometimes didn’t move around too much when speaking that I couldn’t tell who was talking. It was too far for me to tell if someone was moving their mouth.

I’ve watched a lot of anime and Japanese films with the original Japanese audio so my listening skills are pretty good to get a feel of what’s happening in the story. Those listening skills were useless here. Since the Kabuki play took place centuries ago, I didn’t understand the speaking styles (Masumi had trouble with it too). On top of that, they were talking the Kabuki way. I can only describe it as speaking your entire dialog but imagine getting punched in the stomach throughout your lines. Their voices fluctuated in loudness and pitch. I guess that’s Kabuki style.

The Show

The show was 90 minutes! The only thing that kept me amused was the ushers escorting customers to their seats. Imagine a ninja walking quickly and low to the ground to avoid being noticed…now replace that with an usher. Now imagine the usher doing that and then a group of customers doing that too right behind them. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and the most inappropriate times.

For the actual show, I was expecting some action since the performers were equipped with swords, bows and arrows. No action. A lot of expectations that I created in my head were not met. It’s like that episode of Itchy & Scratchy driving towards the fireworks factory but they never get there.

After the show ended, I made my way out the door with the crowd of people. There was a table at the exit with a display in English saying to return your digital translators here. What the hell!? Alright, that’s my bad for not asking for one. I would have definitely enjoyed the show more if I knew what...

This review is before COVID, I hope this environment could be back soon!

Kabuki is a traditional stage drama performed only by men with lively songs and music. It is characterized by a combination of rhythmical words, dynamic dancing, elaborate costumes and make-up, and stage sets such as revolving stage. Kabukiza Theater at Ginza, Tokyo, was opened in April 2013 after renovation. If you would like to watch Kabuki just for your experience, there is a way to watch Single Act at the theater. (We say Hitomaku-mi in Japanese.) Single Act tickets allow you to purchase tickets on the day without reservations, directly at the Box Office located on the ground level of the Kabukiza Theatre. The price is about between JPY1,000 to JPY2,000, which depends on the running time, and the time is about between 40 minutes to 1.5 hour. Go to Single Act Box Office located on the left side of the main entrance to Kabukiza Theatre on the ground level, and stand in line. Single Act tickets will be sold on the day of the performance, and seats are not guaranteed. So you should go there in advance. One person can purchase only 1 ticket for each part, so you cannot buy the ticket for somebody else not in the line. Tickets can be purchased for consecutive parts in the same play. The tickets are first come, first served. You can buy the ticket only by cash. There are approximately 96 Seats and 60 Standing Places for the Single Act located on the fourth floor of the auditorium. Tickets are individually numbered. Once you get on the lobby of fourth floor, the staff will call out the numbers to allow you to enter the auditorium. Keep your seat then. (You might not be able to keep the seat if the number is later numbers.) You have to be at the fourth floor at the latest 20 minutes before the play time. Earphone-Guide is also available for the single play. The guide provides the translation of the story and lyrics, and the explanation related to the story, music, dance, actors and so on. I am sure that you can enjoy...

A lovely theatre. If you're a gaijin like me, do a little research beforehand to make sure you understand where you need to go for tickets. You can get day-of tickets for a single show at the front of the building, but to pick up tickets at will call for a full-day program, as in my case, you will need to head downstairs from the outside (down an escalator at the side of the building) to the box office, then head back up to wait outside the doors until about half an hour before the show. The program itself was magnificent. The costumes and sets were beautifully and meticulously designed. Those who don't know much Japanese can rent a handy device that latches onto the back of the seat in front of you and provides captions in English (Chinese is also an option, I believe). I loved the device, because it was so much better than hearing an audio translation that drowns out the performances of the live cast. That said, while the captions were beyond excellent for the first two portions of the program -- providing not only line by line translations but also helpful info about context and double meanings that are otherwise lost in translation -- the third show's captions sometimes did not provide line translations, instead giving a general summary of what was happening. This was less than ideal, but given that I did not expect or feel entitled to the service in the first place, I was glad to have it and appreciated it for what it was. Make sure you stop by the gift shop as well. If you arrive about a half hour before the show, you will have plenty of time to see everything on offer. My wife and I picked up a beautiful bottle of rice wine--honestly, we just bought it for the bottle, which was adorned with a gorgeous kabuki-style design. The wine was very good, though. Slightly fruity, and though it was 65% according to the label, it tasted more like 10%. Anyway, I have nothing bad to say about the place. Gorgeous venue, gorgeous show, and a great opportunity to see something you can't see...