News On Japan

Sumo Dinner Theater Opens in Tokyo’s Ginza

TOKYO - Hanshin Contents Link, based in Osaka, unveiled to the media on December 19th a new inbound-focused sumo show restaurant called Nichirakuza, which is set to open in Tokyo’s Ginza in January next year, offering foreign visitors the chance to watch live sumo performances while enjoying traditional kaiseki cuisine.

The venue features exhibition bouts by former professional sumo wrestlers, comedic demonstrations of prohibited techniques known as shokkiri, and interactive sumo experiences that allow audience members to step into the action. All announcements are conducted entirely in English, with large monitors used to display visuals and explanations designed to make sumo rules and customs easy for overseas visitors to understand.

The kaiseki meals served during the performances feature a wide variety of seasonal menus highlighting ingredients at their peak, with options also available for halal and vegan guests. A selection of Japanese sake, including brands from the Nada Gogo region of Hyogo Prefecture, is offered at the bar, and an on-site shop sells souvenirs for visitors to take home.

The restaurant has a total floor area of 600 square meters and is centered around a full-size dohyo stage, with seating for 153 guests. It follows the opening of the company’s first venue in Osaka’s Namba district in 2024 and marks its first expansion into Tokyo. Performances are scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with prices ranging from 17,000 yen to 27,000 yen for adults aged 13 and over, and from 9,500 yen to 12,000 yen for children. The restaurant operates on an irregular schedule, with advance reservations required.

Source: 産経ニュース

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Entertainment NEWS

Entertainer Tamori and two other prominent figures were named Honorary Citizens of Tokyo on October 1 in recognition of their contributions to the capital's development and the lives of its residents, with an award ceremony held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters on Tokyo Citizens' Day.

Japanese director Tomoki Misato's stop-motion animation Candy Caries has won the Grand Prize in the children's category for ages 7 and up at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in Canada, one of the world's three major animation festivals.

Makoto Usui, the composer of "Shiawase Hakoberu Yoni," a song written in the aftermath of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that has become a symbol of hope for disaster survivors across Japan and overseas, died in July at the age of 65, leaving behind a musical legacy that his former students are determined to carry forward.

While millions of people across Japan enjoyed this year's five-day Silver Week holiday, workers at Kyoto's Toei Uzumasa Eigamura film studio theme park and a 24-hour smartphone repair service faced packed schedules, with some working late into the night to keep holidaymakers entertained and respond to emergencies.

Japan's oldest record company is turning to artificial intelligence to reshape one of the country's most traditional musical genres, unveiling an AI-generated enka singer as part of a new label combining the technology with the distinctive vocal style of Japanese ballads.

Tsunaki Mihara, a guitarist who rose to fame in the 1960s with the Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets and remained active in music for decades, died of kidney cancer at a Tokyo hospital at 9:02 a.m. on September 11. He was 80.

Switching from an iPhone to an Android device, or playing on both at different times, turns something as simple as buying PokéCoins into a surprisingly confusing errand.

In this video, we cover the performances taking place this month at the Kabuki-za theatre in Tokyo!