Museums Netsuke: The Takamado Collection (June 2026)
A small world that fits in your palm, holding a great big story. Onigiri, keukegen, a go board, and charming little carvings from the Takamado Collection.
Museums 
Kabuki June Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Evening Show (June 2026)
Shichinosuke's Koman — beautiful even as a severed head — and Matsuya's chillingly emotionless Gengobei. A solo evening at the Kabukiza, enjoyed from the famous dobu seats along the hanamichi.
Castle Hopping Castle Hopping: Imabari Castle
I'd planned on Matsuyama Castle, but Tōdō Takatora lured me to Imabari Castle instead. Fish in a seawater moat, a faithfully reconstructed armory turret, and even Osaka Castle from the plane home.
Castle Walk Route Castle Walk Route: Imabari Castle
A companion piece tracing, in photos, the exact route I walked at Imabari Castle, from the Kurogane-gomon to the main bailey, the Bugu-yagura, and a full loop around the seawater moat.
Castle Hopping Castle Hopping: Uwajima Castle (May 2026)
One of Japan's 12 surviving original keeps, and the first castle Tōdō Takatora built for himself. Battling 31°C heat with sour dried plums, I marveled at the castle's oldest stone walls and its compact keep.
Castle Walk Route Castle Hopping: Uwajima Castle Route Map (May 2026)
A photo walk-through of the route I took around Uwajima Castle, from the shopping arcade by the station to the climbing entrance, the Nagatomaru stone walls, the surviving keep, and back down past the Daiuemon-maru and Shikibumaru walls.
Kabuki May Program at the Osaka Shochikuza Theatre: Evening Show (May 2026)
A solo evening at Osaka Shochikuza's farewell performance, just before the historic theater closes at the end of the month. A stellar lineup featuring Nizaemon, Shichinosuke, and Ganjiro delivered both belly laughs and a quiet ache of goodbye.
Bunraku May 2026 Bunraku Performance (Reiwa 8) — Part 1 and Part 2
A long-awaited return to Bunraku at Theater 1010 in Kitasenju. I watched both Part 1 and Part 2 of the May 2026 Bunraku Performance, spent the day with The Tale of Asagao, kept my binoculars fixed on Kanjuro, and came away feeling properly recharged.
Kabuki Dan-Kiku Festival: May Program at the Kabukiza Theatre, Matinee (May 2026)
A front-row seat right beside the hanamichi (runway), with kabuki star Shoroku Onoe close enough to touch! With Tatsunosuke III's name-taking ceremony adding extra celebration, this matinee at Kabukiza was unforgettable.
Kabuki Kabukiza Gallery (May 2026)
Still glowing from the matinee of the May Dangiku Kabuki Festival, I dropped by Kabukiza Gallery on a whim. An elevator mishap, a refreshing rooftop garden, and a model of the second-generation Kabukiza that stole my heart — a solo outing after the show.