The music is hypnotic and the MC is vibrant and energetic. The experience gets everyone on their feet and moving. I recommend checking out the interactive museum on the third floor about fifteen minutes before showtime. The parking is just across the street from the venue and if you spend some
money in the shop you can get an hour of free parking.
Must do activity if you happen to be in Tokushima city. Both the performance and the museums are worth the time, I am truly blown away by the performances. I first watched the day performance and it was really good. They also had a short segment where we all got to learn how to dance the Awa Odori dance, and we all danced together. The night performance was also as good, if not better. Apparently the night performance was performed by one of professional troupes that will dance during the actual Awa Odori festival. Each troupe has their own specialty. There is a schedule of which troupe will perform on which night on the website, in Japanese. The museum attached was also good! Learned a lot about the history. Unfortunately the Bizan Mountain ropeway was closed when I visited due to weather. Overall, would totally recommend this activity.
That was fun.
There's a demo of the dance and explanation of the instruments followed by instruction.
The museum has some neat stuff, including VR and game-center-type games for dancing or playing instruments.
There're Awaodori concerts everyday, especially night-time show was enjoying!
The whole building is a great experience I would recommend to anyone visiting Tokushima - from the Awa Odori museum to the Bizan ropeway. Definitely get the 3 in 1 ticket at the counter (not available at the machine). It's a bit pricey but so worth it!
We especially enjoyed the performance theater, where you also get the chance to learn the dance!
There are only 2 things I find worth improving about the theater part:
- The presentation is in Japanese, obviously, and there are "subtitles" playing on a big screen in Chinese and Korean but not in English. I wonder why?
However, they do offer audio guides at the entrance to the theater, so be sure to pick one up!
- The presenter does wear something that looks like a microphone but it never seems to be turned on. There is one part where he explains the dance movements while the musicians are playing, and you cannot hear him at all! Please fix that! It's such interesting information!
But other than that I loved it. I've been twice!
