Takarazuka Review

One of the delightful things I got to experience in Japan, was going to see The Takarazuka Review. At first in school, I had no idea what this exactly was. I would see signs on the train showing a bunch on women in costumes and I thought "Oh, it just must be some sort of performance," but I was deeply wrong and I would have never known I was wrong if I hadn't by chance heard about the free trip my school was having to go see it.

So... What exactly is the Takarazuka Review?? Well first off, Takarazuka is a city located in Hyogo-ken, close to where my school was located (actually I had friends who dormed in Takarazuka so I was there a lot). To get to the city you can either take a JR Line or take the Hankyu line from Osaka or Kobe, go to Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi station and then transfer to Takarazuka. I would take the Hankyu line since the Takarazuka Review is actually apart of the Railway company. The review, though, is an all girl theatrical group that puts on multiple different performances throughout the year (ranging from things like Romeo and Juliet to things like Footloose). I saw Ocean's 11 when I went and it was amazing. Basically, it is an all female broadway melodramatic performance that used to be based on kabuki but has been transformed. The Review has their own theater, the Grand Theater, that usually sells out every time.  Tickets, depending on the seat, are about 60 USD and up. Most of the fans of the Review are in fact women themselves, but it is definitely worth seeing even if you are male (my male friends were sure impressed.) The actors usually have their own fan groups and sell out pictures and books of themselves every show. What is special about these women who play male and woman parts? Well if you look at their pictures maybe you will figure it out....

 

As you can see these women have incredible make-up jobs, and although they still look like women.. well they could also look like very attractive men.. Besides this though, the male part actors have trained their voices to be deep and loud so even if you look at them up close they still sound like men. If you have a cheap seat far away like I did, you may not even realize they are women.

Anyways, my review for the Review is an A+++. It is a very famous and unique thing of Japan, that needs to be seen if you happen to be in the area! So go and enjoy it! And while you are there, enjoy the city of Takarazuka by taking a walk through the botanical gardens or stroll along the river. ~

Here are some more pictures of the area: