National Theatre of Japan — Attraction in Tokyo

The National Theatre of Japan. If I had more time, I would research to see a Kabuki or a Bunraku performance here. Kabuki performances are dance performances where its stylised art of drama with elaborate makeup is often portrayed as attractive Japanese culture worthy of an experience by visitors. But a performance at the National Theatre tends to be among the best so seats are harder to come by at the last moment. Bunraku are performances done by puppet masters using puppets to tell a story. The puppets are usually elaborate almost lifelike and the performances quite evocative. This would be an interesting departure from the usual symphonies in other parts...

A little tricky to access - we came by taxi and there is a large drop off area outside the building (and it is easy to hail taxis from the main road too). The building entrance is on the east side (facing the Imperial palace).

Booking tickets can be done on the English website of the National Theatre Japan - be careful as it also sell tickets for performances in other venues including Osaka. Bunraku was a good experience here although unlike in Osaka, you cannot pay to watch a single act, which makes it...

Don't let the "small" in the name fool you. This is a good sized, fully equipped theatre with large stage, excellent lighting and sound, and from what we saw of the Bunraku (Japanese puppet) plays in 2 of the 3 different performances, for a total of 5 hours plus breaks), top notch actors, narrators, and musicians. Looking forward to our next trip here. The English audio systems (600 Yen plus 1000 deposit) had fantastic audio tracks for...