| A five-minute walk from the Ginza 4-chome crossing
along Harumi-dori will bring us to the magnificent Japanese-style building called
Kabukiza (location 14), Japan's most famous kabuki theater. It takes a whole day
to watch an entire kabuki performance, but there are special tickets available
for people who would just like to take in the atmosphere of a performance. These
tickets, called hitomaku mi (meaning "viewing
one scene"), allow a patron to watch for about an hour for approximately
¥1,000. One point to note, though, is that the English commentary that is
provided via rental earphone is not available in these seats. It is also fun to
purchase a beautiful bento (box lunch) either within the Kabukiza or at a shop
in the neighborhood and eat inside the theater.
In the area around Kabukiza, there are shops (location 15) that for more than
130 years have carried tabi (traditional Japanese
socks with a split toe) and tenugui (rectangular cotton
gauze cloth used as a towel or head covering). Tenugui
featuring the likenesses of kabuki actors are especially popular. There are also
towels with traditional patterns and some that illustrate sumo techniques.
|
