Samurai night show Tokyo: what to book

Two choices decide the evening

The ticket is admission to a stage show at Kanda Myojin, and it comes down to two choices. The first is the package, dinner or drinks. The second is the seating area, Front Row or Standard. Guests on the dinner package pick their own main course when they book, so one table can order different meals. The drinks package comes with one drink, and an all-you-can-drink upgrade is offered on applicable plans. Your option fixes the seating area, but the venue assigns the specific seat on the day, so you choose a zone rather than a chair.

Dinner package or drinks package?

Choose dinner when the show is your evening meal. The menu changes with the seasons, a vegetarian main is among the choices, and guests with allergies or dietary needs should tell the organiser in advance. Choose the drinks package when you have already eaten, or when you would rather settle in with a drink than sit through a meal. Either way, food and drink service ends before the performance begins, so place any extra order before the last order is called. Once the lights go down, nothing competes with the stage.

• Dinner package: a main course chosen at booking
• Drinks package: one drink, with an all-you-can-drink upgrade on applicable plans
• Allergies or dietary needs: tell the organiser before the evening

Front Row or Standard?

Front Row puts you close enough to catch every expression on the performers' faces. Standard seats still give a clear view of the whole stage, so neither is a poor choice. Both areas are reserved. The show's own site adds that you cannot request a particular seat, that seating may change to suit the room's layout, and that stage lighting can look briefly bright from some seats. If you care most about the detail of the swordplay and the costumes, take Front Row. If you would rather see the whole stage picture at once, Standard is a sound choice.

What the ticket covers

The ticket covers admission, reserved seating, your choice of package, an individual meal selection on dinner packages and the live performance, which brings together samurai sword demonstrations, ninja action, traditional dance and Japanese music. Several things sit outside it. Transport to the venue is not included, nor are extra food and drink, tips for the performers or personal expenses. Wheelchair access is marked for this show. The duration is about three hours, so allow the whole evening rather than a slice of it.

• Included: admission, reserved seating, your package, the performance
• Not included: transport, extra food and drink, tips, personal expenses
• Upgrade: all-you-can-drink, on applicable plans

GetYourGuide or the show's own site?

The show also sells tickets on its own booking page, so you can choose. The difference is the terms. Through GetYourGuide the ticket can be cancelled without charge until 24 hours beforehand, and payment can wait until later. On the show's own page, cancelling or reducing your party on the day of your visit may cost 100% of the booking, and start times may shift slightly. The show's own site lists English-speaking staff and an English booking page, so the choice rests on how flexible you need your plans to be.

How the evening runs

You go to the basement of the Kanda Myojin Cultural Exchange Center, known as EDOCCO, on the shrine's grounds. Dinner or drinks come first, and the service stops before the lights go down. Then the performance begins, with swordplay, dance and live music. After the final bow the cast comes out to meet the audience, chat and pose for photos, and for many guests that turns out to be the high point. Check the calendar for the start time on your date, then look for it again in your confirmation, so you never have to guess the hour.

Read next: Samurai, ninja and tate on stage

What the show performs

The show tells its stories in chapters, and its own site publishes them. One is built on Taira no Masakado, the warrior enshrined at Kanda Myojin, and another follows the poet Ono no Komachi. Parts of the show can change without notice, so you can't book by chapter. The production has no dialogue to follow, so you don't need Japanese. If you want the Masakado story in your head before the lights go down, the guide to him is short and takes a few minutes to read.

Read next: Taira no Masakado: the shrine's rebel

Photos, gifts and tips

No photography, filming or audio recording is allowed while the show runs, and cameras appear on the banned list. Commemorative photos with the cast after the show are welcome, and staff guide you. Tips are optional and sit outside the ticket. A few guests wished the finale had come with clearer word on tipping, so make up your mind beforehand. The show's own site also says you may hand a gift to staff in the lobby or to a performer after the show, but it cannot accept food, perishable items or flowers.

Dress, children and access

The show's own site says it may decline entry for attire it judges unsuitable for the venue, and gives excessive exposure and visible tattoos as examples. It also says children aged five and under may sit free on a guardian's lap, with a child fare if a seat is needed, so check the terms on your own booking. The hall is marked wheelchair accessible, and the show's site asks wheelchair users to contact it in advance to talk through seating and routes, because the layout of the room decides what is possible.

Another Tokyo samurai show, for comparison

A second samurai-themed show runs in a Shinjuku restaurant, and the cards on the home page describe it. It is a neon light and sound spectacle with samurai and ninja performers, split into four parts with an intermission between each, and it is for adults only: guests under 18 are not admitted. Two drinks are included, ID is required, and latecomers wait for an intermission to be seated. The Kanda Myojin evening is the quieter match for a meal, a shrine setting and a story, while the Shinjuku show suits anyone who wants spectacle and bright colour.

Who this isn't for

This is not the night for a quiet, conversational dinner, because the meal leads into a staged show with live music. Anyone who must photograph or film the performance should skip it, as should anyone hoping for spoken English commentary on Japanese history. If you want to understand how stage sword fights are built before you go, read the guide to tate first. And if you want the neon spectacle with an adults-only audience, book the Shinjuku show instead.