Manzai comedy show in Osaka

Manzai is the most famous style of comedy in Japan and Osaka is its birthplace: from here came the comedy duos that today dominate Japanese television. A live manzai show is a unique cultural experience even if you don't understand Japanese, because the energy between the boke (the fool) and the tsukkomi (the sensible one) is universal. The best theatres to see a show are the Namba Grand Kagetsu, the largest comedy stage in Japan with almost 900 seats and continuous shows from morning to night; the Yoshimoto Dotonbori Theater, which offers performances with non-verbal comedy and some explanation in English, more accessible for foreigners; and the Yoshimoto Manzai Theater, a launchpad for young comedians of the Kansai circuit. Ticket prices range between 1.000 and 4.000 yen depending on the theatre and the time slot. The Yoshimoto Dotonbori Theater is especially recommended for foreign travellers for its mix of physical humour and manzai with basic subtitles. To get there, any of these theatres is less than a ten-minute walk from Namba station.