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 Tokyo
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Tokyo
This chic lounge stages short acts (40 minutes) of traditional Japanese performing arts, including nō, kagura (sacred dance) and Kyo-mai (Kyoto-style…
Tokyo
Sumo wrestlers live and practice in a heya (somewhat weirdly translated as 'stable'). Only some allow visitors to watch keiko (practice) and then…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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;…
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…
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…
Tokyo
Underground venue for avant-garde performances, often dance, including butō (a Japanese form of contemporary dance). Shows are irregular. Book tickets…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Tokyo
This is an attractive, intimate venue, sunk deep so the ceiling feels refreshingly high for a Tokyo basement venue. The line-up is jazz, but that's a wide…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Asakusa was once full of theatres like this one, where traditional rakugo (comedic monologues) and other forms of comedy are performed. There are also…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
We love Three's mission to make live music more accessible in Tokyo: it hosts 10 free events a month (otherwise they average around ¥2000). The line-up is…
Ginza & Tsukiji
This venerable group specialising in nō dramas relocated to the bowels of the Ginza Six shopping complex in 2017. The theatre seats 48; if you haven't…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This beautiful, oak-panelled, A-frame concert hall, with legendary acoustics, hosts the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra among other well-regarded ensembles…
Tokyo University of the Arts Performing Arts Center
Ueno & Yanesen
With its stage dominated by a French Garnier Organ and a ceiling that can be moved to create optimum acoustics, the university's intimate hall is a superb…
Tokyo
You’re more likely to hear contemporary international jazz stars here than musicians harking back to the 1920s New York club it honours. Also on the…
Tokyo
This practice and performance space is run by one of Japan's most active butō (a contemporary dance style) troupes, Dairakudakan ('Big Camel Ship'). It's…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
In the basement of a building with a guitar shop and recording studios, this small venue (capacity 230) is a long-running favourite with Tokyo's indie…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
As well as live performances and a variety of Japanese and international acts, this 920-seat capacity theatre is also used for drama, musicals and as a…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
This glitzy amphitheatre-like space plays host to major foreign talent as well as Japanese jazz, soul and rock groups who all come in to shake the rafters…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
This hip jazz club often features local and European talent, as well as healthy doses of Latin jazz. Shows start at 7.30pm and 9.15pm.
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This is one of the very few remaining yose (vaudeville) theatres in Tokyo. Shows feature over a dozen acts, many of which are rakugo (comedic monologue)…
