On Friday, June 2, 2017, Jody and I took a weekend trip into Ginza to experience Kabuki Theater and the sites of Ginza. For those who don't know, Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. The individual kanji, from left to right, mean sing, dance, and skill
The Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form. The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and others starred; upon Danjūrō's death in 1903, Fukuchi retired from the management of the theater. The theater is now run by the Shochiku Corporation which took over in 1914. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures of the actual performances, but they were spectacular. We experienced three widely different plays over a 4-hour period. They were highly entertaining and colorful. We even had an English translation device with us at our seat. Below are pictures of the building, the cast, as well as a picture I took of the very wide stage prior to the performance..
Following the Kabuki, we strolled off through Ginza in search of someplace to eat. We finally lighted at this Japanese steak house where we had fabulous Kobe beef. What a treat.
Following are pictures from this day's walk around Ginza. We must have walked several miles as day turned into night looking at the fabulous archetiture. Ginza is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.
It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity. Ginza is recognized by many as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world, attracting visitors and regulars alike from across the globe. Needless to say, we mostly did window shopping.
It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity. Ginza is recognized by many as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world, attracting visitors and regulars alike from across the globe. Needless to say, we mostly did window shopping.
The famous Tokyo Tower gleaming like a jewel.
The Kabuki Theater lit up for the night. Frankly, we got so lost in this huge section of Tokyo that we ended up taking a cab back to the Kabuki Theater. Why the theater instead of our hotel which was just a few blocks from the theater? Because our cab driver couldn't even find the hotel on his GPS. Go figure. The biggest problem with the map we had was that it was in Japanese and really hard for us to find our way around.
Just some window shopping. We can't even imagine what these two above items cost. Anyway, so ends our first day in Ginza. Talk about being tired.