#Kabuki

Uchiko is a tiny town on the main island of Shikoku, about a 25-minute ride on the Uwakai Express from the prefectural capital Matsuyama. It’s home to the Uchiko-za, a historic theatre building.

The theatre was built back in 1916 as a two-storey wooden building in a traditional Japanese style. In 1985, it reopened after a major refurb. Nowadays, it occasionally puts on evening Kabuki and Bunraku theatre shows for a bit of fun.

But popping by during the day is totally worth it too, as the theatre opens its doors for a peek behind the scenes. You can roam freely around the building, grab a spot on one of the wooden seats, step up onto the stage or even try on costumes. Down in the basement, you can see how the historic revolving stage and the stage lift are operated.

The theatre is just a 5-minute walk from Uchiko station. The entrance is tucked away down a little side street. Entry is 400¥. With a 900¥ combo ticket, you can also check out the local history museum and the Kamihaga residence. Don’t forget a good pair of socks, ‘cause you have to take your shoes off before you go in! 😉

The regional train took us to the small towns of Uchiko and Uwajima today. The trains and stations here are only labelled in Japanese. You hardly get any tourists wandering out here anymore.

In Uchiko we visited the Uchiko-za, an old kabuki theatre from 1916. During the day you can explore the theatre, take a look backstage and check out the stage tech. The local History Museum recreates everyday situations from the 19th and 20th centuries using life-sized dolls.

The regional train ends in Uwajima. We took a quick look at the castle there before heading back to Matsuyama.

Japan’s small towns have their own special charm. The people here are really friendly, helpful and curious about their visitors. For us, that’s always a welcome excuse to leave the big cities behind every now and then.

Tomorrow we’re continuing our journey on the main route. Next stop: Ōsaka.

Today we took the train to Nara and visited Tōdai-ji with the great Buddha. After that, we hurried past the Kasuga-taisha temple with its thousand lanterns. We would’ve loved to spend more time in Nara, but we had to be back in Kyōto on time for the next item on the programme, the “Geisha dances”.

What sounded like pure tourist folklore on the programme turned out to be a proper theatrical performance in a Kabuki theatre in Pontocho. Of course we didn’t understand a single word, but that just meant we could pay more attention to the costumes and the singing.

After the show, we got chatting with a Japanese guy who was probably wondering how a group of foreigners had managed to wander into the theatre. He explained to us that the play is really hard to understand even for Japanese people. It was the fifth act of an old 15-act play. A part of it is performed every year.

It was a really interesting experience. The music in particular - played and sung live by a small group of female musicians - sounded unusual to our westernised ears, but good.