Tsugaru shamisen performance over traditional dinner
Description
Developed by blind street musicians in Japan’s northernmost peninsula, Tsugaru shamisen has a bold, resonant sound that expresses the region's harsh yet beautiful landscape. Revel in the performance by award-winning musicians in the restaurant over dinner. After the performance, enjoy interacting with the performers as you see in the photo section. An Asakusa history tour precedes the performance and the dinner in the restaurant. First, the guide will brief you on points of interest and give you a panoramic view of Asakusa from an observation deck in the tourist center building. With the guide, walk through the Senso-ji temple and its vicinity until you reach the restaurant for the show and dinner.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center is one of Asakusa’s newest sightseeing attractions. We will go to the open terrace Observation Deck on the top floor of the Center, where you can get a good view of the main part of Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate, Nakamise shopping street, Sensoji Temple, and much more on one side, and on the other side, another splendid view of Tokyo Skytree and the Asahi Beer Headquarters.
Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) is the entrance to the world of Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. The world's well-known giant red lantern is hanging under the gate.
This street leads to Sensoji temple. You may be surprised by its friendly and welcoming atmosphere walking on it if you had imagined solemn and stately religious facilities. The street features not just shops but "history tablets," which recounts Asakusa's history with beautiful pictures.
Hozomon ("Treasure-House Gate") is the inner of two large entrance gates that ultimately leads to the Sensoji (the outer being the Kaminarimon). A two-story gate, the Hozomon's second story houses many of the Sensoji's treasures. The first story houses two statues, three lanterns and two large sandals.
It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. Adjacent to the temple is a five-story pagoda,which holds Buddha's ashes given by Sri Lanka goverment and buddhist society for goodwill between Sri Lanka and Japna in its top floor. You can participate in centuries-old rituals at the Temple and the Asakusa Shrine and see what the fates have in store for you with Sensoji’s infamous paper fortunes.
we will take you to a Japanese restaurant for live performance of traditional musical instruments, shamisen, etc. Since it is a small restaurant with a limited number of seats, the performance is presented just in front of you. The powerful but adroit performance will mesmerize you.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(9)
First off, I am a vegetarian, and the tour went out of their way to make sure I was able to eat on this tour. Almost ate a little too much, in fact. The tour itself was about a mile long walk, give or take, from the tourist center to where the dinner and show took place. The show was energetic and very authentic- I think we were the only tourists in the place, but everyone was very kind and welcoming. I've always thought that the best way to get a feel for a country is its music, and if you agree you really can't do better than this tour. A special shout out to my guide, whose name I can't remember (I am so sorry, I lost the card!), who walked me back to my hotel in the surprise snow storm that hit while we were there.
Great tour of Asakusa and the Senso-JI temple from Akiko. The music concert was great and gave us a little taste of Japanese culture (as did the dinner). Very enjoyable and informative!
We enjoyed our Live music performance over traditional dinner. The food was delicious, and the wine very good. It was very special to hear the fantastic live music , played by very talented musicians. Our guide--YOKO , was excellent. She explained a lot of Japanese history to us . She used a map of Japan to tell us about the areas. She was very helpful, and answered all our questions. THANK YOU, YOKO,
We got to enjoy a tour of the vibrant Asakusa neighborhood, followed by dinner and a show in a small restaurant. The dinner was tasty and featured a variety of Japanese staples. The show had musicians playing traditional instruments with incredible skill. Afterward, they let us strum a few notes ourselves and took photos of us. It was a one-of-a-kind experience and a great introduction to traditional Japanese music.
I had a wonderful time on this tour! For starters, the company had to shift the specifics of the tour due to the previous restaurant closing due to COVID, and they dealt with all of those logistics and worked with me to find a new date that worked for me. The tour guide, Yoko, is very knowledgeable and kind, giving an overview of the history of Asakusa and answering a variety of other questions I had about the area. She was also willing to adjust the tour somewhat based on my interests, which was great, and happily helped take some photos and sent them to me afterward. Then the dinner at the restaurant was delicious and the Shamisen performance was absolutely incredible. Honestly had a great time and would readily recommend this tour for folks interested in getting to know Asakusa and some Japanese history.
We are very glad to know that you had a wonderful experience with our guide Yoko!
It was a great evening of dinner with really talented musicians. The walking tour was very informative and the rest of the evening too. The guide was great conversation, very personable and knowledgeable about the history of the area. I highly recommend this tour.
Yoko san took me in an amazing trip in different places around asakusa, she is very knowledgeable in the history of Japan. I enjoyed listening to traditional Japanese music “shamisen” at an authentic Japanese restaurant which was a one of my best trips in Tokyo. Definitely worth the recommendation!
This fantastic tour through Asakusa under the expert guidance of Yoko san is a great way to understand the history and development of the “old town” region of Tokyo, while seeing the superb shrine and temple complex at Asakusa. The included traditional Japanese kaiseki lunch at the restaurant, followed by a masterful short concert of Tsugaru shamisen. The whole experience is well worth it. If you have only a short time in Tokyo this tour should definitely be on your list of things to do
This tour was led by Yoko who was very knowledgeable about Asakusa and shitamachi neighbourhood. Not only did she show the main area of Asakusa along Nakamise to the temple and shrine, but also she showed the other areas around the main tourist area. Yoko san explained history and culture of the region in excellent English, and was readily able to answer my questions. Undoubtedly the highlight was the kaiseki lunch at the traditional restaurant with masterful demonstrations of Tsugaru style shamisen playing. I certainly think that this is an excellent and informative tour for those who are trying to see typical and historical Tokyo in a short time
