Tuesday, November 14, 2017; Kabuki and Oiran

Tuesday, November 14, 2017; Kabuki and Oiran

We have had a couple of nice days in Tokyo, but it began to rain this morning, putting a damper on our spirt of exploration.  We did make it out to the Kabukiza Theatre and got in line at 9:45AM. We were numbers 23 and 24 in line, so we ended up good seats at the front center of the 4th balcony.  It is a huge theatre, but the actors and orchestra do not use any amplification.  The acoustics in the hall are great.  Of course, we didn’t understand a word of the dialog since it was all in Japanese, but the show was very interesting, with several sets costume changes, a few martial arts chase scenes, and even a scene with a giant carp doing battle with our hero, splashing through a real waterfall and pond on the stage. We only booked a single act which was about an hour long.  It was quite interesting and a great way to enjoy something uniquely Japanese without being out in the rain.  One odd note was that before the performance began, the front of the stage was draped with several beautifully painted scenes.  None was used in the actual performance, but at the bottom corner of one scene was clearly the logo “LIXIL”, which we noticed was a common brand mark on toilets.  Just imagine the Metropolitan Opera, brought to you by American Standard.  

Walking back from Ginza, we found the okonomiyaki restaurant that Janet wanted to try.  These are pancakes with savory fillings topped with a yakisoba like sauce and mayonnaise.  We had one with pork and another with oysters.  They were tasty and filling.  

We returned to our hotel and took a nap to prepare for the evening show planned for 7:00PM in Roppongi’s Kaguwa Theatre.  We arrived in the Roppongi district early and walked around the Roppongi HIlls mall a bit, finding a Yakitori restaurant to take in some appetizers, since the “Oiran Show” or Japanese Cabaret show featured all you can drink beverages, but only light snacks with no refills.  We didn’t want to be guzzling alcohol on an empty stomach.  We had some chicken thigh and pork belly Yakitori, as well as some delicious bacon wrapped asparagus Yakitori.  

The Kaguwa Theatre is quite a contrast to the Kabuzika theatre.  It had a very small but deep stage, with dining booths and tables clustered around the front of the stage.  It was quite intimate, and before the show began, the actors walked through the audience introducing themselves and handing out cards, like Pokémon trading cards.  Most of the actors were young and athletic, while one, Hana, appeared to be the Matron of the theatre troupe.  The show is hard to describe but consisted of about a dozen vignettes ranging from updated Japanese Geisha and Kabuki elements set to modernized music, to skits like music videos, and even a short game show vignette.  While the stage was small, it was made of multiple smaller platforms that were constant going up and down, creating a 4th dimension on the stage of vertical velocity.  The troupe did a remarkable job entertaining us with an hour of non-stop action.  Hana, while older than most of the rest of the troupe, carried herself with incredible grace and beauty with flowing kimonos and silks.  After the show was finished, each member of the troupe was introduced to take their bow, and then went through the audience as people held up money as tips for the actors.  Some also gave the actors flowers and gift bags.  While all of the actors each garnered tips from around the audience, when Hana took her bow, and went through the audience, she needed an assistant to help carry all her loot back onto the stage for the final bow.  The show was a striking contrast to the classical Kabuki we had seen in the morning, and we hoped that maybe Princess Cruises could develop a similar show for their Asia cruises.  

On the way back to the hotel, we took a detour to see the Tokyo Tower, which is all lit up in orange in the night. There was quite a Christmas display around the base of the tower as well.  Between the Tokyo Tower and the subway station, we walked through a darkened Zojo-ji Temple, and saw an eerily beautiful, strange and sad sight of rows of small simple statuettes with just a baby’s face and dowel like body, each adorned with a knit cap and colorful pinwheel.  This was a shrine to memorialize stillborn and miscarried fetuses.  

We tried to find a new place to have dinner after the show, but it was after 10:00PM and places were closing.  The other problem, is after 9:00PM, people can smoke and DO SMOKE in restaurants.  We ended up eating at the same train station ramen shop we had earlier, but the food wasn’t nearly as enjoyable with Japanese businessmen in suits smoking up a storm in one corner of the restaurant.  

We’ll get repacked in the morning and have already checked in for our return flights from Narita to Seattle.  We have an airport shuttle booked for 1:30PM.  Maybe we’ll try to see one last sight in Tokyo in the morning after we check out of the hotel, but before our airport pick up.