Comedy clubs in Tokyo: all 24 mapped

Where the concierge points people first

Tokyo Comedy Bar — A small club in Shibuya that runs stand-up in English and Japanese and hosts the Tokyo International Comedy Festival. The most reliable place in the city to hear jokes in English. (35.6583, 139.6994) · Directions ↗
Pirates of Tokyo Bay — A long-running bilingual improv troupe rather than a venue, performing in English and Japanese, often in Ebisu and Shibuya. Improv makes the language gap part of the joke. (35.6477, 139.7080) · Directions ↗
ルミネtheよしもと — Lumine the Yoshimoto, the Yoshimoto Kogyo theater on an upper floor of Lumine in Shinjuku. Fast Japanese manzai double acts all day; not for English speakers, but a window into how Japan laughs. (35.6897, 139.7006) · Directions ↗
ヨシモト∞ホール — Yoshimoto Mugendai Hall in Shibuya, where the agency's younger comedians work up their acts. Cheaper, younger audiences, entirely in Japanese. (35.6613, 139.6974) · Directions ↗
池之端しのぶ亭 — A small rakugo hall near Ueno, for the seated one-person storytelling tradition. Occasional English rakugo performances are staged in Tokyo, so watch for those. (35.7152, 139.7663) · Directions ↗

The rest of the comedy clubs in Tokyo — every one we hold

Manzai, rakugo and stand-up are three different nights out

Japanese comedy on stage is mostly manzai, a fast double act of a straight man (tsukkomi) and a fool (boke), and rakugo, a centuries-old form where one kneeling storyteller plays every character with only a fan and a cloth. Yoshimoto Kogyo, the biggest comedy agency, runs several theaters on this list. English-language stand-up is a small scene run by expats and bilingual comics, clustered around a few Shibuya and Ebisu venues, with shows on particular nights rather than every day.

Questions people ask

Where can you see English comedy in Tokyo?

Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya runs English stand-up nights, and Pirates of Tokyo Bay perform bilingual improv, often in Ebisu. Check their schedules, as shows run on set nights.

How many comedy clubs are there in Tokyo?

NUM's directory maps 24 comedy clubs and comedy theaters in Tokyo with coordinates.

What is manzai?

A Japanese stand-up double act with a straight man and a fool, trading fast lines. Yoshimoto theaters such as ルミネtheよしもと in Shinjuku show it every day.

Ask NUM where English-language comedy is on this week in Tokyo

Everything NUM knows in Tokyo →

All 24 comedy clubs in Tokyo, mapped.