Kabukiza Theatre

This is Japan’s only theater dedicated exclusively to Kabuki, located in Higashi-Ginza. Kabuki performances are held throughout the year, and you can enjoy everything from classical works to new productions.

Directly Connected to Higashi-Ginza Station

Kobikicho Plaza, below Kabukiza, is directly connected to Higashi-Ginza Station on the Toei Asakusa Line and the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. You cannot enter the theater directly from the underground level, but the covered approach allows visitors to reach the seating areas while avoiding rain or direct sunlight.

Subtitle Tablet Rental

At Kabukiza, English and Simplified Chinese subtitle services using tablets are provided, displaying translations and explanations of lines and lyrics in sync with the progress of the performance. The rental fee is between 1,000 and 1,500 yen, and payment is cash only.

(For short performances, the subtitle service may not be available.)

In addition, there is an English audio guide that provides simple explanations of the program and an outline of the story, and the Japanese pamphlets sold at the theater include an English synopsis at the back. This theater likely offers the most extensive services for first-time Kabuki audiences.

Kabukiza: Four Story Theater Dedicated to Kabuki

Since its opening in Kobikicho in 1889, Kabukiza has staged many Kabuki productions. On the second basement floor is Kobikicho Plaza, and on the first basement floor there are coin lockers and restrooms. Entering from the first floor, where the main entrance is located, you will find the information desk, the rental counter for earphone guides and subtitle services, drink stands, script and souvenir shops, a café, and the auditorium.

In addition to regular seats, another feature of Kabukiza is the presence of “box seats” (sajiki-seki), where you can enjoy the performance in a more relaxed manner. Box seats are sunken kotatsu-style seats where you sit without shoes and can relax, and they are equipped with built-in tables, which are convenient for eating bento during intermissions.

As of January 2026, the second-floor dining area Ootori is temporarily closed and is being opened as a dining space that can be used during intermissions. On the third floor, at the dining areas Hanakago and Kitcho, you can enjoy Japanese cuisine such as makunouchi bento and dishes made with seasonal ingredients.

The fourth floor is for single-act tickets. While other seats require tickets for the full program, the single-act seats allow you to choose only the acts you like and experience Kabuki in as little as 20 minutes. Programs, opera glasses, and English subtitle guides are available at the fourth-floor counter.

Purchase Kabuki Goods & Souvenirs at Kobikicho Plaza

On the second basement floor, Kobikicho Plaza features the Kabukiza ticket office (ticket purchase counter), souvenir shops, and stores selling bento that can be eaten during intermissions at Kabukiza.

When performances are being held at Kabukiza, you can also purchase bromides (stage photographs) at Kobikicho Plaza. You can take home as a memento scenes such as your favorite actor’s highlight moments and iconic Kabuki scenes.

The souvenir shops offer a wide range of items, from casual gifts such as Japanese sweets, Japanese-style accessories, and Kabuki goods to traditional crafts. There are many items that showcase artisan skills, including jewelry using traditional crafts such as maki-e and tortoiseshell, mizuhiki crafts considered good-luck charms, kimono obi and small accessories and hairpins. In addition, there are Kabukiza-exclusive sweets, collaboration goods with popular characters, and items unique to Kabukiza such as the goshuin (temple/shrine stamp) of Kabuki Inari Shrine located at the main entrance of Kabukiza.

The Landmark of Higashi-Ginza: GINZA KABUKIZA

Kabukiza is part of the multi-purpose complex GINZA KABUKIZA, which was built in 2013. The adjoining Kabukiza Tower is a high-rise building with four basement floors and 29 above-ground floors, with offices occupying the 7th to 29th floors. The office entrance is located on the Showa-dori side, where beautiful gingko trees line the streets.

The 4th and 5th floors of the tower form the Kabukiza Gallery Corridor, and on the 5th floor, which is the large roof of Kabukiza, there is a rooftop garden. There are many highlights, such as monuments related to Kabuki including the Monument to the Pioneers and the stone lantern and tsukubai (stone basin) associated with playwright Kawatake Mokuami, as well as the striking vermilion-colored Goemon Staircase.

At the bottom of the Goemon Staircase, the Fourth-Floor Corridor showcases exhibits on the history of Kabukiza. Each panel is equipped with multilingual QR codes, making the displays accessible to international visitors.

The Upside-Down Phoenix

The tiled roof visible when descending the Goemon Stairs is modeled after Kabukiza’s crest, the Houou-maru (Phoenix Circle). Among these crests, there is one in which the phoenix’s face is turned in the opposite direction. This is called the Upside-Down Phoenix, and it is said that finding it will bring you good fortune. When you visit the Kabukiza Gallery Corridor, be sure to try and find it.