The service inside is great. Saw 3 plays and it was really fascinating! You can get a translator inside, which, I would say, is worth getting if you want to stay in the loop.
The service inside is great. Saw 3 plays and it was really fascinating! You can get a translator inside, which, I would say, is worth getting if you want to stay in the loop.
Very easy to get tickets (at least when we went in early March). Got in line about 20-30 min early for the 11am show. Just wanted to experience it to see about this long-standing tradition. It was quite entertaining. We only did the first act (1 h the day we went, it varies). It was only around $12 and it was a good time. The translation machine you get (good enough for two people) was perfect. It told the story of what was going on. Without that, it would have been pretty painful. With that translation, I found it very interesting and a great way to spend a couple of hours (did the same day ticket so you have to stand in line about 30-40 minutes to ensure you will get in, plus the show).
Good experience for Japanese theater and culture. My only regret is not renting the translator. I purchased a single act and wish I had more time for the other 2.
Hearing the audience screaming and encouraging the actors catches you off guard at 1st but it becomes fun with intense stage moments.
In the Single act area seats there is almost no leg room btw. I'm 6'4" and had trouble sitting comfortably. Definitely happy I went though.
Although the 11:00 show was very long (4 and a half hours) there were ample intermissions between the performances to walk around, eat something or do some souvenir shopping. I suppose if you weren’t interested you could leave after two or three of the performances.
I found the performances very interesting because I could follow everything on the subtitle machine I rented for 1,000 yen. It even included background information.
The building is new. It is very clean. The restrooms are very easy to use and clean.
I bought my tickets online. I had to get the tickets at the door outside the theater and there were staff outside the theater that could help when I had a problem.
Really very enjoyable. Looking forward to attending next month’s show.
The theater is an excellent glimpse into the past...one can opt for an audio guide to understand ...as it is in Japanese language..However, the catch is in getting the tickets..if one has to see only one act of the play....the tickets are few and get sold off very early...
We opted for the full matinee program, which consisted of two plays: a one-act comedy, and a 3-act tragedy, totalling 4 hr and 40 min including 55 minutes of intermissions. We didn't have reserved seats; instead, we arrived at the theater around 10:30 am. (You can check seat availability online at the official kabuki website.) The box office is in the second basement, which is part of the Hibiya Line Higashi Ginza station. We were able to use a credit card to pay for the tickets. You can also buy box lunches or snacks here (although some bentos and a lot of snacks were also available in the theater as well). English audio is not available, but for 1000 yen plus picture ID, you can get an English caption reader, which shows the dialogue as the play proceeds. The reader is available on the ground floor. I recommend it; you can share between two people. For the full program, seats ran from 4000 yen (upper third tier) to 20,000 yen (box seats). We opted for the lower third tier, center, at 6000 yen per person. We are small people so the seats fit us pretty well, but someone with longer legs might have some trouble. We could not see the end of the ramp that extends out into the audience. Other than that, the view was quite good. The first play lasted about 80 minutes without intermission. There was a 30 minute intermission between plays. The second play had two intermissions of 10 and 15 minutes respectively. One can eat at one's seat during the intermissions. Restrooms were conveniently located. We enjoyed the entire experience. The color and the choreography were memorable. The movements of the actors were a delight to watch. The last act of the second play was more like an odori than a play, but that too was fun to watch. And we were especially thrilled to see that the star of the second play--who played 7 different characters in the play, sometimes making costume changes in a matter of seconds--was our favorite kabuki actor, who used to host Kabuki Kool on NHK World. The staff was marvelous--there was always someone there to help us if we got confused about where to go. I would highly recommend taking in a whole program for anyone who likes the theater.