Originally Posted by
OliverB
I was hoping to be able to see a performance at Minamiza Theatre in Kyoto. Could anyone tell me a bit more about the accessibility of kabuki theatre in Kyoto for English speaking tourists and the best way to purchase tickets? We will be visiting mid-November and I am not sure what's scheduled at this time of year. My wife had wanted to see a Noh play, but from what little research I've done, that seems less accessible (harder to follow and appreciate) than kabuki.
Here is website...a little too early to see what is playing Mid November.
http://www.kabuki-bito.jp/eng/conten..._minamiza.html
As for Kabuki, I did attend one show at the Osaka theatre. Seems to me at that time you could buy tickets from their website, but I don't see that possibility now. You probably could buy at a Loppi machine (Lawson Convenience stores), but without Japanese language skills, you would need someone to assist you on that.
There were no English language headphones for the performance I attended. I left after the first act, not so much for finding in incomprehensible, but more that I just did not like it and was bored stiff.
Now, if your really want some offbeat Japanese theatre, try the Takarazuka Revue. Think musical production with a separate Busby Berkely type show for the finale as well...it has a huge female following in Japan and has been on the go for over 90 years. As strange as it sounds, we had a good time there, so if you have any interest in old time Hollywood musicals it is well worth the time. Tickets again though are hard to come by.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarazuka_Revue
(Edit-I see LapLap already brought up the Takarazuka Revue topic while I was typing out my reply, so I suppose at least 2 of us on this board consider it worth seeing!)