I have an interest in drama and loved the theatre!!!!! I did not have enough money on me to hire the english headset (to translate) so i shared with my husband. the first half i saw it in japanese and still it was easy to follow if you just look at the narator and get a feel for his emotions.... More

Traditional arts, like Shakespeare or classical music in the west, persist for a reason. And that is, they draw you in with qualities that, when experienced, are not passed over lightly. We went in with only one English language headset, which was a mistake in following the intricacies of the narrative, though it focused concentration on the narrator and the... More

This was a beautiful, fascinaing show, and i thoroughly recommend it to anyone visiting Japan. I booked a ticket for the 11am-3pm showing, and am surprised some people managed to see just segments of the shows, as most were nearly booked up when I got my ticket a week ahead! But I think the single-segment option would be a good... More

I was curious to see this unique japanese cultural experience, and was half expecting to be a bit bored, but the Bunraku was quite entertaining. Obviously the style of music is completely foreign to our usual fare, as is basically everything else about the experience, but when the story is good, it's easy to get involved. The operation of large,... More

It's everything. It's the act, it's awesome stage set, the music (old Japanese music), it's the shamisen, it's the choir, it's the narrator (the narrator is really such an artist!). All these, coordinated in one performance. It's when the puppeteers move the puppets to act as the narrator says the dialogue, in a very well done stage that was painted... More

I loved this experience of the traditional stylised Japanese theatre of puppetry. With 3 or more people manipulating each puppet, and the voices and music provided by separate performers, there was a subtlety and variation to the performance that I hadn't expected. I didn't bother with the translating audio option, as the printed information explained the story well enough and... More

First of all, I'm in the theatre business, so I enjoyed this more than most. It's not updated for a modern attention span so be prepared for a 4 hour puppet show. If this still sounds fun, you'll enjoy it. It's a cultural experience as much as seeing an opera in Palermo. Not too expensive for what you get and... More