solo outing

NEW Cinema Kabuki “Yotsuya Kaidan” (August 2026)

A morning of ghost stories at MOVIX Kyoto with NEW Cinema Kabuki "Yotsuya Kaidan". Tsurumatsu back on screen, a terrifying Oiwa, a stylish stage, and my comfortable AirPods Pro 3 earphone-guide setup.

2026.08.10

Kabuki

Summer Vacation Bunraku Performance: Part 2 (August 2026)

Part 2 of the Summer Vacation Bunraku Performance, seen from a special seat right in front of the musicians' platform. My first Gempei Nunobiki no Taki left me in awe of how dead a puppet can be, plus a bunraku bento and an adorable program.

2026.08.08

Bunraku

Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island at TOHO Cinemas Hibiya (August 2026)

My very first Chiikawa turned out to be the movie. Lulled by the cuteness, I was not ready for the chills of the second half: a solo cinema report with a Premium Box Seat and FOD points.

2026.08.02

Others

Cinema Kabuki: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Part 2 (July 2026)

A 9:10 a.m. start and over 200 minutes of Cinema Kabuki Nausicaä, Part 2, at MOVIX Kyoto. Kikugoro's beautiful Nausicaä, an epic hair-swinging finale, crystal-clear sound and camera work.

2026.07.25

Kabuki

YBA & BEYOND: British Art in the 90s from the Tate Collection (July 2026)

A midsummer visit to the YBA exhibition at the KYOCERA Museum in Kyoto. Lubaina Himid's vivid colours, Wolfgang Tillmans, a reunion with Derek Jarman — and Martin Creed, of all artists.

2026.07.25

Museums

Castle Hopping: Kumamoto Castle (June 2026, Day 2)

Numbered stones awaiting their turn, a crane finally in motion, the aerial privy, old photos laid over the now, and signing up as a reconstruction castle lord.

2026.06.15

Castle Hopping

June Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Matinee (June 2026)

The matinee of June Program at the Kabukiza Theatre, seen from a dobu seat by the hanamichi. Yukihime’s cherry-blossom snowstorm reached my hands, the new kabuki Lone Wolf and Cub was full of beauties, plus Hayato’s masking tape, a Kabukiza-only tenmusu bento and a long-awaited taiyaki.

2026.06.08

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.

2026.06.07

Kabuki

Kankurō Nakamura and Shichinosuke Nakamura: Shungyō Kabuki Special Performance, Matinee (March 2026)

The Nakamura brothers' touring Shungyō Kabuki Special Performance 2026 (matinee): a heartwarming talk corner, Shichinosuke getting his face blackened in Suminuri Onna, and a small gap I felt inside a multipurpose hall. A solo theatergoing diary.

2026.03.13

Kabuki

The Sun (dir. Aleksandr Sokurov)

The timing happened to line up, so I wandered into Meguro Cinema for the first time to watch The Sun — Sokurov's portrait of Emperor Hirohito around the end of the war. Heavy, nine-tenths of the way through, but unforgettable. A solo film outing that reminded me how good indie cinemas can be.

2026.02.11

Others