Ginza & Tsukiji
The flamboyant facade of this venerable theatre is fitting for the extravagant dramatic flourishes that are integral to the traditional performing art of…
Must-see entertainment in Japan
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Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This is Tokyo's best jazz spot: intimate, unpretentious and with an always solid line-up of influential, avant-garde, crossover and up-and-coming…
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Osaka
For going on three decades this has been the place to hear underground music live in Osaka. It's a small, bare-concrete, smokey space – well suited to the…
Osaka
The classical performing art most associated with Osaka is bunraku, which makes dramatic use of highly sophisticated puppets. Visiting the theatre is a…
Asakusa & Sumida River
If you’re in town when a tournament is on, don't miss the chance to catch the big boys of Japanese wrestling in action at the country's largest sumo…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Japan's most important theatre for traditional performing arts stages kabuki, gagaku (music of the imperial court), kyōmai (Kyoto-style traditional dance)…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Tokyo Dome (aka ‘The Big Egg’) is home to the Yomiuri Giants. They're the most consistently successful team in Japanese baseball.
Southern Higashiyama
This theatre in Gion is the oldest kabuki theatre in Japan. The major event of the year is the Kaomise festival in December, which features Japan’s finest…
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Southern Higashiyama
This 45-minute dance is a wonderful geisha performance. It’s a real stunner and the colourful images are mesmerising. It’s held throughout April, usually…
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Downtown Kyoto
One of Kyoto’s most atmospheric live-music venues, with a long history of hosting some great local and international acts. Check the Kyoto Visitor's Guide…
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Southern Higashiyama
Put on by the Miyagawa-chō geisha district, this wonderful geisha dance is among the most picturesque performances of the Kyoto year. It’s held from the…
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Fukuoka
Held for two weeks at the Fukuoka Kokusai Centre. The main ticket sale is in October, and spectators start lining up at dawn for limited same-day tickets …
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Southern Higashiyama
This is a quaint and charming geisha dance put on by the geisha of the Gion Higashi geisha district. It’s held from 1 to 10 November at the Gion Kaikan…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This is Tokyo’s premier public performing-arts centre, with state-of-the-art stages for drama, opera and dance. The plays are in Japanese and the operas…
Osaka
The big fellas rumble into Osaka in March for this major tournament, held in the EDION Arena (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (府立体育会館) in Namba. Tickets (from…
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Ueno & Yanesen
The Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Ballet both make regular appearances at this Ueno-kōen landmark, designed by Maekawa Kunio, an…
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Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This Kabukichō spectacle has hit it big with its vision of 'wacky Japan': bikini-clad women ride around on giant robots against a backdrop of animated…
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Tokyo
This chic lounge stages short acts (40 minutes) of traditional Japanese performing arts, including nō, kagura (sacred dance) and Kyo-mai (Kyoto-style…
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Sapporo
Built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Sapporo Dome is home to both baseball's Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters (www.fighters.co.jp) and J-League soccer's…
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Hiroshima
This stadium is a good place to catch a baseball game and see the beloved local team, the Carp. It's a short walk southeast of Hiroshima Station – follow…
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Southern Higashiyama
If you want to witness geisha perform and then actually speak with them, one of the best opportunities is at Gion Hatanaka, a Gion ryokan that offers a…
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Tokyo
Sumo wrestlers live and practice in a heya (somewhat weirdly translated as 'stable'). Only some allow visitors to watch keiko (practice) and then…
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Harajuku & Aoyama
Jingū Baseball Stadium, built in 1926, is home to the Yakult Swallows, Tokyo’s number-two team (but number-one when it comes to fan loyalty; Swallows fans…
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Tokyo
Named for the infamous 1960s London spot, Kōenji's UFO Club is committed to keeping the spirit of the era alive: the small basement space, with red-and…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
The girl group Kamen Joshi – singing and dancing young women wearing cute outfits and full-face hockey masks – is all the rage at this live-music show in…
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Ginza & Tsukiji
If you love camp, this is for you. The all-female Takarazuka revue, going back to 1914, stages highly stylised musicals in Japanese (English synopses are…
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Tokyo
The 14,000-plus-seat Budōkan was originally built for the judo competition of the 1964 Olympics (budō means 'martial arts') and will be pressed into…
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Asakusa & Sumida River
Oiwake is one of Tokyo's few remaining minyō izakaya, pubs where traditional folk music is performed. It's a small, cosy place, where the waitstaff and…
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Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
One of Tokyo's nicest and biggest cinemas (it has nine screens, some with 3D and 4D capability), Toho's Roppongi Hills theatre screens all the latest…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Not as red-hot as they once were, this J-pop phenomenon girl group of 60 rotating members continues to perform in shifts at its very own workhouse…er…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Watching indies here feels a bit like hanging out in a friend's basement; with just 40 comfy, mismatched seats, Uplink is officially Tokyo's smallest…
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Harajuku & Aoyama
This is Japan's only national theatre devoted to nō, a centuries' old mode of performing arts. It has a classically elegant, sparse cypress stage;…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Billing itself as 'Booze & Jazz since 1975', Lady Jane is a Shimo-Kitazawa landmark, with a polished, vintage interior of dark wood and moody lighting. On…
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Maiko Dinner Show Yasakadori Enraku
Southern Higashiyama
Traditional restaurant Yasadori Enraku started hosting intimate maiko (apprentice geisha) performances in early 2017. Guests are seated on tatami-mat…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Setagaya Public Theatre, comprising a main stage and the smaller, more experimental Theatre Tram, is the city's top venue for contemporary drama and dance…
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Tokyo
Underground venue for avant-garde performances, often dance, including butō (a Japanese form of contemporary dance). Shows are irregular. Book tickets…
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Harajuku & Aoyama
Decked out in neon, mirrors and chrome, Crocodile is a classic dive. Live music of all sorts plays here nightly (from rock to reggae to Latin), but the…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
In a former art-house cinema with the tell-tale tiered floor (but not the seats) still intact, this is one of those rare venues where you could turn up…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
This small venue attracts a more grown-up, artsy crowd than the club’s location – in the heart of Shibuya – might lead you to expect. There’s no explicit…
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Harajuku & Aoyama
Like sister clubs in New York and Milan, Blue Note Tokyo books the biggest international names in jazz, as well as local talent. This is a well-heeled…
