Best Entertainment around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

One of the largest movie theaters in central Tokyo; 13 screens (including the annex) and approximately 2,800 seats. The concept is a ”movie palace.”

One of the largest movie theaters in central Tokyo; 13 screens (main building and annex) / Approximately 2,800 seats.

A theater for plays and musicals. Over 600 of seating capacity. Enjoy the innovative and sophisticated stage.

An immersive entertainment facility where you can experience the cutting-edge next-generation VR known as ”Magic-Reality.”

One of the few mini-theaters in TOHO Cinemas. It screens mainly European films.

A leisure complex centered on the New National Theater Tokyo, with an opera house, and a concert hall

This is a national theater for modern theatrical arts such as opera, ballet, dance, and play.

A large arena where all sorts of events and concerts are held

A theater where you can appreciate various Japanese traditional performing arts such as kabuki (classical Japanese dance-drama) and bunraku (Japanese puppet theater).

An entertainment hall, which holds popular entertainment such as rakugo (traditional Japanese comic storytelling), manzai (comic dialog), rokyoku (traditional reciting) and kodan (vaudeville sotrytelling). One of its appeals is that the audience is up close to the performers.

An outdoor rock festival held at Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki attended by representative artists from around Japan.

Takarazuka is a revue composed solely of unmarried women, and it has been popular since its first performance in 1914. This theater acts as its base in Tokyo.

This is an art and cultural facility that possesses a pipe organ of the world's largest class. You can appreciate various artworks throughout the year.

A wide variety of plays such as kabuki, comedy, modern, and melodramatic shinpa can be enjoyed in the theater. It is also an ideal theater to feel close to the Japanese traditional performing arts.

A theatre that serves as an activity base for idol group AKB48. The distance between the stage and audience is very small, so you can see them from up close.

This is Japan's major video community site Niconico Douga's showroom. Niconico allows individual users to host live broadcasts, and they also provide various anime and gaming shows catering to die-hard fans streamed live over the internet. The Niconico main office's studio is the one responsible for these live broadcasts. Aside from being able to watch public live broadcasts of some of the programs, they also have cafes and event spaces with electricity and Wi-Fi, as well as shops which sell original merchandise. Try to get a peek at their internet broadcasting office.

If you come to Shibamata, the Tora-san Museum is an absolute must-visit. As explained earlier, it is all about the film series Otoko wa Tsurai yo that revolves around the wandering salesman Tora-san and his sheer eternal story of his unsuccessful love life. Running between 1969 and 1995, it holds the world record for the world’s longest-running movie series starring a single actor. As such, Otoko wa Tsurai yo and its endearing main protagonist, played by Kiyoshi Atsumi, has a large fandom not only in Japan. The museum itself was opened in 1997. Even if you have never heard of this show up until now, the Tora-san Museum is well-worth the visit. The dumpling store and print shop of the series have been faithfully recreated, offering not only a nostalgic paradise for fans of Otoko wa Tsurai yo but also a very authentic glimpse into Tokyo’s 60s and 70s. Other parts of the museum take you even further back: beautiful dioramas show how Shibamata has looked back in the 1930s when Tora-san was a child. There even is a life-sized wagon of a man-powered tramway as it was used decades ago! For fans of Otoko wa Tsurai yo, we highly recommend also visiting the Yoji Yamada Museum, dedicated to the director of the series and many other movie masterpieces – it’s right next to the Tora-san Museum.