Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre holds a "theater tour" every month, letting visitors discover and experience the many charms of the venue. In September, there are two tours: a tour that takes a look around the building and its artworks before visiting the Playhouse while it is being prepared for a performance, and a tour of the Concert Hall just ahead of a show.
These tours reveal sides of the theater that simply attending a performance never shows. Whether you're a regular visitor or coming for the first time, why not try a theater experience with a different flavor, fitting for the autumn arts season?
September 2026 Overview
After touring the building and its artworks, visitors move into a hall in the second half of the tour to see what goes on inside. Led by guides full of personality, it's a one-hour tour packed with the theater's appeal.
September 15 (Tue): Playhouse (Rigging Tour)
Visitors will watch the stage set construction and rigging work, with commentary from the stage technical staff. While taking in the powerful atmosphere on site, guides will explain the hall's features and the rigging process. The production being prepared for during this tour is as follows.
"King Lear"
Performance site: https://www.geigeki.jp/performance/theater407/
September 20 (Sun): Concert Hall
Visitors will enter the hall's seating area and view the stage set up for an orchestra ahead of a performance, while guides explain the hall's mechanisms and acoustics.
These tours reveal sides of the theater that simply attending a performance never shows.
Why not try a theater experience with a different flavor, fitting for the autumn arts season?
Schedule & Route
Playhouse (Rigging Tour)
- September 15 (Tue) 11:00 AM (reception opens 10:45 AM, duration approx. 60 minutes)
- September 15 (Tue) 2:00 PM (reception opens 1:45 PM, duration approx. 60 minutes)
Concert Hall
- September 20 (Sun) 10:00 AM (reception opens 9:45 AM, duration approx. 60 minutes)
*The tour route may change depending on the theater's usage and weather conditions on the day.
- Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (1-8-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021)
- Eligibility: 4th grade elementary school students and older (elementary school students must be accompanied by a guardian)
- Participation fee: ¥500 (tax included)
- Capacity: 20 people per session, first-come, first-served (same-day tickets available only if capacity is not reached)
- How to apply: Advance application via the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre website (payment settled on the day): https://www.geigeki.jp/performance/gt2026-09/
- Organizer: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
About Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
Located right by Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (commonly known as Geigeki) is a multipurpose arts and culture facility with four specialized halls for music, theater, and dance performances, along with exhibition spaces. It has a concert hall dedicated to music that houses one of the world's largest pipe organs, a Playhouse for theater and dance performances, and two smaller halls. As a theater that both creates and presents original work, it produces and stages performing arts productions, and it also runs active programs such as exhibitions, lectures, and workshops in its studio and gallery spaces.
The Appeal of the Theater Tour
The theater tour, in which a guide leads visitors around the halls, is held every month. It introduces Geigeki's history and each hall's features, along with behind-the-scenes stories known only to theater staff. The tour route changes each time depending on how the halls are being used, but every session offers a full experience that touches on both the "hardware" side, such as the architecture and stage mechanisms, and the "software" side, such as the performances and concerts being staged, as well as a look at the artworks placed throughout the building, inside and out.
Guided by Tour Guides
The tours are led by guides who love the theater. Drawing on their own expertise and personalities, they share Geigeki's appeal with visitors. Together with guests, they walk through the building, enter the empty audience seating to explain how the halls work, and pass along firsthand accounts from the people involved in creating each production. Their goal is to help visitors discover new sides of the theater and feel closer to it. Feel free to ask questions about anything that catches your interest during the tour.
Photos From Past Theater Tours
*Routes vary each time
