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Entertainment
Guide to Entertainment, Events and Nightlife in Tokyo

If you're still keen for more after a day of sightseeing and eating, there's always the theatre, spectator sports or cinemas to keep you going through the evenings. Or you can head for a Karaoke Bar if you think your singing is good enough. You might prefer the accompaniment of the clanking Pachinko machines however...

Theatre

Kabuki is traditional Japanese theatre and the dominant topics are love, conflict and tragedy, although not necessarily in that order, set in the Samurai era. They are fascinatingly artistic and completely different to anything you might have experienced in a Western theatre. Dance and movement is as important as dialogue but stories are generally easy to follow and the action always keeps you entertained.

Performances take place daily at the Kubuki-za in Ginza and tickets are sold on the door. Radio translation in English is usually available. Performances often last four or more hours, but one-act tickets are available on the door if you just want to have a quick look. Tickets start at around JPY1500. Tel: +81 (0)3-5565-6000. Ginza Station : Ginza, Marunouchi Line.

Western and international theatre can be found at several venues in the city. The New National Theatre in Shinjuku (Tel: +81 (0)3-5351-3011 and the Tokyo Panasonic Globe (Tel: +81 (0)3-3360-1151) are the two best theatres in the city to catch international companies that visit the city. Plays on offer can range across the various epochs of the dramatic arts according to the company but this is where you'll catch performances of Shakespeare and other classical Western works.

Music

Tokyo isn't as famous a live music centre as many other cities of comparable size around the world, but when you're actually within the city you'll find that that isn't for want of enthusiasm. There are absolutely hundreds of medium sized venues in the city that offer live music from classical, through jazz to the latest in contemporary pop.

Classical Music
Western Classical Music has only relatively recently become popular in Tokyo but the city can boast two excellent orchestras in the Japanese Philharmonic and the Tokyo Philharmonic. The modernistic Tokyo Opera City is the main venue for all the classical arts including concert recitals. 3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Tel: +81 (0)3-5353-9999 for ticket booking and performance details. The nearby New National Theatre also features some performances in its opera hall.

Modern Music
The best known jazz venue in the city is Blue Note, an intimate jazz club in the traditional style that attracts the very best international performers to play to an appreciative crowd. You'll also find local acts which carry a lower ticket tag. 6-3-16 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. Tel: +81 (0)3-5485-0088.

Japanese youth has embraced Western culture and you'll see punk bands and heavy metal groups thrashing away in international bars such as What the Dickens. Some of the venues can be quite large. You should check local listings for details. The world's biggest bands such as U2 and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers also make Tokyo part of their circuit, usually playing the Tokyo Dome Stadium. You should check local and international listings for details.

Amusements and Pachinko

Amusement arcades are a Japanese institution. The country makes the best games in the world and is home to both Sega and Nintendo. The latest crazes including dance simulators and Virtual Reality are available at the massive amusement arcades such as Joypolis on the entertainment island of Odaiba. However, the delights of Sonic and Pokemon are nothing compared to the hypnotic qualities of the streaming ballbearings of a Pachinko machine.

Pachinko parlours are absolutely everywhere in the city, even in the heart of fashionable Shibuya you can find these large halls filled with the noise of the clanking machines. Utterly impenetrable to the uninitiated, Pachinko is most often likened to Pinball, but in Pachinko the object is to direct your many ballbearings into holes. You are rewarded with more ballbearings and top scores receive tokens. You aren't supposed to win any cash for Pachinko, instead you exchange your tokens for prizes. Sometimes the arcade will let you sell the prize back in exchange for cash, but the largely tacky prizes on offer (should you win one) are worth more to the tourist than the paltry amount of Yen they fetch.

Spectator Sports

The Japanese are huge lovers of spectator sports and in Tokyo you can see almost every sport you can imagine. There are a few favourites however:

Sumo
Sumo tournaments take place six times every year across the nation, and tournaments are held at Tokyo's National Sumo Stadium (Kokugikan) in the latter two weeks of January, May and September.

Tickets for the cheap seats can be obtained by queuing on the day, and before the major bouts you should be able to get ringside and see some wrestlers close up. Junior wrestlers fight from around 10h00 and the major bouts start at around 16h00 in the afternoon. Note that sumo is much more than just a spectator sport, being intertwined with important cultural devices and elements of Shintoism.

The Sumo Stadium is near to Ryogoku Station. Advance tickets can be bought from the Stadium box office but are more expensive than tickets bought on the day. Tel: +81 (0)3-3623-5111.

Baseball
Baseball is huge in Japan and there are frequent baseball games at the Tokyo Dome (Suidobashi) featuring the Nippon Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants. Tickets are available on the door and matches take place in the evening and in the afternoon at weekends. Tel: +81 (0)3-5800-9999 for details.

The third of the city's teams, the Yakult Swallows, play at the Meiji Jingu Stadium, 13 Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku-ku. Tickets are available on the door or from ticket agencies.

Soccer
The Tokyo Stadium (376-3 Nishi-cho) is home to Japan's J-League soccer sides FC Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy. Soccer has proved extremely popular in Japan since the inception of the J-League in the 1990s and games regularly attract a large and enthusiastic crowd, bolstered since the co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup. For the Westerner seeing the normally staid Japanese at a football match is almost as entertaining as the sport on offer.

Cinema

There are multiscreen cinemas found widely across Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ginza and within shopping malls across the city. They all feature up-to-date films, which are usually shown in their native language. Prices start at around JPY2000 although weekday morning shows are often cheaper to attend. Times and locations can be found in the Japan Times newspaper or just drop into one of the city's many malls and find out what's on when.

The most modern and largest cinema complex in the city is Sony Mediage on Odaiba Island. As well as other entertainment the centre contains a 13-screen ultra-modern multiplex cinema showing all the latest movies from around the globe. 1-7-1 Daiba, Minato-ku. Tel: +81 (0)3-5531-7800.

Nightlife

Tokyo is heaven for clubbers with just about everything on offer in the main hotspots of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ginza. Most clubs are pretty obvious neon palaces but some inexplicably choose to hide themselves away and can be hard to locate. Club types vary from the cheesy karaoke bar through mainstream European and international establishments to the weird, and sometimes worrying, "exotic" bar. Usually the latter will make it pretty clear what's on offer so don't worry too much about ending up somewhere inappropriate - just don't follow anyone to a "good bar" and you should be fine.

Clubs tend to stay open as late as they do in Europe, and they are always lively. One of the best places for expats and Westerners is the massive Milk complex in Ebisu. It is located in the same building as the popular What the Dickens beerhall.

Head for Shinjuku, the modern heart of the city, for some of Tokyo's biggest and best clubs. Club Complex Code is absolutely huge with space for literally thousands of revellers to dance the night away and features several different club nights each week. The Liquid Room meanwhile often hosts European bands and domestic live acts. Try to avoid the seedier looking establishments in the nearby Higushi-Shinjuku area though, you'll recognise it if you wander in - it's the part of the city that looks like it belongs in a gritty sci-fi. This is where the over-priced hostess bars and strip clubs are located.

Disco fans should take the tube to Roppongi station where one of the cheesiest and best clubbing experiences in Tokyo is located nearby. The massive Velfarre is a modernised dance palace that bangs out pop numbers to an upbeat crowd. Velfarre often gets packed out earlier than most places, but closes earlier than most as well. A good place to go to before moving on, if you can afford it.

Special Events

There is a bewildering number of festivals and religious observances held in various temples and shrines around Tokyo from month to month. You may be lucky enough to catch one whenever you visit, all feature fabulously festooned shrines and performances of traditional dance and music. These are a few of the major celebrations held throughout the year:

January
On the first of the month, New Year's Day, the shrines around the city celebrate Gantan when the city's inhabitants make their first visit of the year to the city's holy sites. You'll see traditional ceremonies as well as dance and music performances. On the second day of the month the Imperial family makes their customary appearance to the people at the palace.

Unlikely as it may sound, Dezomeshiki is the "New Year's Parade of Firemen" and is an enduringly popular tradition in the city. Taking place in the Harumi district the annual event features great displays of agility and daring from the city's firemen. Wearing traditional costumes the acrobatic firefighters weave their way up and down the seemingly fragile bamboo ladders that were integral tools of their profession's past.

On the second Monday of January the city celebrates with the rest of the nation at the Coming of Age holiday. Honouring the youth of the city who have reached the age of 20 you can expect festivities across the city. The shrines are normally the focus for the events, which always include dance, music and traditional costume.

February
In the first week of February, winter is waved goodbye in the traditional bean scattering ceremony of Setsubun in several of Tokyo's temples. Catch the ceremony at Senso-ji or Hie-jinja .

April
Chidorigafuchi Park is the place to head to see and celebrate the Hanami cherry blossom displays at the beginning of the month.

May
Sanja Matsuri is always held on the third weekend in May and is punctuated with fantastic displays of traditional dance and music as well as processions and costume pageants.

July/August
In late July or August Tokyo is lit up with firework displays in the Hanabi Takai celebrations. Originally the event was held to celebrate the "river opening" each year, and viewing the fireworks over the river from a boat is still the best way to experience it.

In mid-August every three years (next in 2006) Tokyo celebrates Fukagawa Matsuri. A traditional procession, mikoshi (shrines) are carried through the streets while onlookers throw buckets of water are customarily over them.

The Obon Festival is held nationwide in July or August in memory of Japanese families' dead ancestors. Obon Odori folk dances are held in the temples and public spaces of neighbourhoods in order to honour the souls of the departed who, according to Buddhist belief, revisit the world during this period. Many Japanese who have recently experienced a loss will go home at this time. It is a suitably touching affair that gives a remarkable insight into the sensitivities of Japanese culture.

November
The traditional ceremony of Shichi-go-san is held in mid-November in the city temples. This honours the children of Tokyo, wishing them good luck for the future. Children aged 3, 5 and 7 form the procession and the accompanying ceremony draws tourists and well wishers.

December
On New Year's Eve the city celebrates along with the rest of the world. Temples traditionally ring their bells 108 times to dispel the 108 earthly desires that, according to Buddhist teachings, taint humanity. Of course there are 109 if you include the urge to ring bells all day...

 

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