One of Asia’s Largest Theater Festivals! Toyooka Theater Festival

Experience the Power of Performance in Northern Kansai

📍 Location: Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture
(Just north of Osaka and Kyoto)

🗓 Dates: September 11–23

Even if you are not a theater goer, the Toyooka Theater Festival is an enchanting event full of fun!

You do not need to buy tickets to see performances presented inside the theater. Just walk around the town and feel the festive atmosphere which totally changes during festival season.

In 2024, 132 programs from seven different countries were presented at various venues throughout Toyooka and neighboring areas; a total audience of 36,225 enjoyed the festival.

Check out the events you can enjoy during your stay in Toyooka City, including the street performances in Kinosaki Onsen or the festival market food trucks.

For those who want to enjoy more, various programs such as a traditional folklore performed at old shrines or cutting-edge collaborative works by international troupes are on the list.

Fringe Street

Kinosaki’s historical townscape and the old-fashioned streets in Downtown Toyooka turn into a stage! Experience this exclusive occasion and enjoy acts by street performers under the sky. You might see a juggler at a shrine or a miming clown in the traditional streets.

Festival Night Market

Festivals are never complete without food! Toyooka City, famous for its local specialties such as Snow Crab and Tajima Beef, offers plenty of options for food at the Festival Night Market. Taste local dishes and drinks in a comfortable seating area while watching evening performances.

There are multiple places in front of Kinosaki Onsen Station, Kiyamachi Street, Shisho Shrine and Willow Street that all turn into stages.

During this period, the good old Kinosaki Onsen completely changes its facade. Walk around and enjoy the juggling at a shrine or a miming clown in the traditional streets.

All the Town’s a Stage

The Toyooka Theater Festival makes art accessibility a mission priority. Public Fringe Programs are spread throughout Toyooka City and other nearby rural towns and cities. Coupled with the natural and dramatic beauty of locations such as Takeno Beach, Eirakukan Kabuki Theater and the tattoo-friendly hot spring town of Kinosaki Onsen, visitors experience an assortment of performances ranging from international collaborative works, traditional folklore and street shows.

The Toyooka Theater Festival is unique as many special places turn into performance venues. Past venues include Eirakukan Kabuki Theater in Izushi Castle Town, an old ski slope in the Kannabe Highlands, a sandy stage at Takeno beach, a train running through the San’in Kaigan UNESCO Global Geopark and an ancient traditional wooden shrine stage in Tanto Farming Village.

Every year, many performers and theater troupes from all over the world join the festival to present their performances, including internationally collaborative works.

The collaborative production by Chia-Ming Wang / Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group (Taiwan) and Kuro Tanino / Niwa Gekidan Penino (Japan) has already been announced as one of the first line-ups.

The story of this piece is situated in a public bath house, in which Taiwan and Japan share the same tradition. Witness the conscientious set design of the interior of a public bath house, built on the stage of the Kinosaki International Art Centre.

Experience Local Narratives

The Toyooka Theater Festival is not only a chance for artists to present their performances, but also a place where they create and develop their works during a stay in Toyooka City. There are always new ideas born here while researching local narratives and created with local people, such as Tanto Sai Sai, a stage show performed by residents based on traditional folklore performances carried down through generations in Tanto Farming Village.

This year, “The Last Geishas: Re-creation” created with Hidemi, the last Geisha in Kinosaki Onsen, will be performed at Eirakukan Kabuki Theater in Izushi Castle Town.

Meet Local People

Maybe you would like to meet artists, locals and fellow festival-goers. At the festival’s Meeting Spot, you can take a rest, speak with people or purchase festival souvenirs!

Festival Centre in front of Toyooka Station

Tickets for the festival productions can be purchased here. However, this place is not only a box office. If you do not know which performance/event you can enjoy or how to reach the venue, just ask here! Opening date and details are to be announced at the festival’s official website.