Culture · Kabuki · geisha house
Fri 4 Dec · Sat 5 Dec · Sun 6 Dec · 12:30 and 16:30 each day (some shows are private)
Kabuki dance up close in Yugawara's geisha house, performed by the Narikomaya family: the Nakamura brothers and Nakamura Shikan.
Coming up
In 2024 the kabuki brothers Nakamura Hashinosuke, Fukunosuke and Utanosuke started a kabuki dance show in Yugawara with the dancer Fujima Naozō. Last year every performance sold out.
This year's programme opens with Tachi Nusubito, a comic dance-play about a sword thief, then a stage greeting for a new dance name with Nakamura Shikan and the whole family, and finishes with two celebratory dances, Tsurukame and Shōfudatsuki Kongen Kusazuri.
Tickets go on sale on 5 October at 10:00, online and by phone through the Narikomaya ticket site, or in person at the Chamber of Commerce (weekdays) and the tourism desk in Man'yō Park (weekends). Cash only at the counters. The venue is up two flights of stairs.
The shows are at 12:30 and 16:30 at the geisha house in the onsen district, so there's time for a bath before or after, and dinner after the late show. With a ticket this special, make a night of it at a ryokan.
Make it a night to remember. With friends or family, Shiroyamakan (formerly Shiroyama Bekkan) rents out the whole annex of an onsen inn two minutes from the station, with a spring-fed bath and room for 12. Hakuunsou has rock baths in the woods above the river, Fukiya serves dinner in your room, and Genzan Uenoya is a 1930 wooden inn that's a registered cultural property. Hotel Shikisai is the easy, affordable option a short walk from the old streets. Friends of Matt's run Shiroyamakan.
The detached annex of an onsen inn two minutes from Yugawara Station, rented whole: three bedrooms, room for up to 12, and a half-open-air bath fed from the hot spring.
A quiet ryokan in the woods above the river, with rock baths, rooms with their own hot-spring tubs, and dinner by candlelight.
A sukiya-style ryokan with seven baths, including two hinoki tubs on the roof, and dinner and breakfast served in your room. Good with children.
One of Yugawara's oldest inns, in a four-storey wooden building from 1930 that's a registered cultural property. Two springs of its own, free private open-air baths, and a hinoki foot bath on the top floor.
A big, easygoing onsen hotel by the river with buffet dinners, a station shuttle, table tennis and a summer pool. Good value for families and groups.
Book ahead: Torisuke for yakitori over charcoal (closed Mondays and Tuesdays), Yoru no Ajito for Italian wine and gibier, or Iroha for hamburg steak (closed Mondays). Beer Stand Kadoya pours craft beer by the Ochiai-bashi bus stop every day until 22:00.
A husband-and-wife yakitori house grilling over binchōtan, with clay-pot rice cooked to order.
A small evening spot for Italian wine with cured ham, cheese, house bread, and Yugawara wild boar and venison.
A cosy evening yōshoku restaurant with wood-panelled walls, known for hamburg steak and tomato curry.
The only place in the onsen district to drink fresh local beer on tap, with a terrace over the Chitose River.
Kogome no Yu is the town's cheap and cheerful day bath by Man'yō Park (closed Mondays). Soyu Terrace is the long, lazy option with lunch, so book it. Walk the stream through Man'yō Park and have a coffee at the Genkan Terrace, or see the art museum up the road (closed Wednesdays).
The town's own day bath, next to Man'yō Park: big indoor and open-air baths, a free tatami rest room, and cheap entry after 7pm.
A quiet, beautifully designed bathhouse in the woods of Man'yō Park. Book a half day with lunch, the baths, a sauna and a library.
A wooded park along the Chitose River in the heart of the onsen district, with stream-side decks, a thatched tea house, a café and a day spa.
The town's small art museum in the onsen district, with a café terrace, a garden and a foot bath by the stream.
A glass-walled café and library at the entrance to Man'yō Park. Free to walk in, with terraces among the trees and by the river.
Plans can change with the weather. The organiser's page has the latest.
On now
From 24 Nov 2025, no end date
A puzzle game you play on foot from Fudō Falls down to Man'yō Park, following a story on your phone. Go any day.
On now
Tue 1 Sept – Sat 31 Oct
Pick up a free puzzle booklet, walk the town from the station to the onsen district collecting clues, and enter a draw for ¥1 million in prizes.
On now
Sat 5 Sept – Sun 29 Nov
Japanese comic storytelling every Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the geisha house, plus a Saturday-night show with a bath.
