Noh Experience & Shinsaibashi

OVERVIEW

Watch an authentic Noh performance after touring the theater’s backstage and browse Shinsaibashi, Osaka’s premier shopping destination. The venue for the show will be the Yamamoto Noh Theater, a purpose-built setting for Noh, a form of song and dance that is so essential to Japan that UNESCO has designated it an Intangible Cultural Heritage. As an introduction to this art form, you will receive a behind-the-scenes look at the stage, the dressing rooms and other elements essential to Noh. To further your cultural immersion, a master will teach you Noh movements in a workshop before the actual performance begins. Watching the show will be a mesmerizing and profound experience. Walking through Shinsaibashi will be exhilarating in a different way as it is one of Japan’s busiest shopping arcades. It has been a retail center since the mid-18th century and now spans eight blocks, fully covered so you can comfortably shop no matter what the weather.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy an insider’s tour of a Noh theater before watching an authentic Noh performance.
• Gain insight into why UNESCO added Noh to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
• Spend free time shopping along the 8-block Shinsaibashi covered arcade.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.