The office party act that works for both halves of the room
If you are planning bonenkai entertainment for a Tokyo office where some people work in Japanese and some in English, the problem is not finding an act. It is finding one both halves enjoy at the same moment. The fix is a show the room writes itself. Pirates of Tokyo Bay brings that to your venue: English and Japanese improv comedy. Unscripted, unpredictable. Thirty, 60 or 90 minutes, or "This Is Your Life!" built from the guest of honour's true stories. Quotes by email at info@japancomedy.com, details on the private shows page.
Quick Facts
Private show plans: 30, 60 or 90 minute show, "This Is Your Life!", custom show, event emcee. Quotes by email at info@japancomedy.com.
Languages: English and Japanese. Japanese-only is possible, including "This Is Your Life!".
Audience size: from a small team to a whole company. Fees are tiered by audience size; email for a quote.
Year-end parties, new-year parties and farewell parties are the same product.
No public show in December. The monthly show runs January to November, Sunday evenings, at What the Dickens! in Ebisu, ¥2,500 with your 1st drink free.
Reputation: Google rating 4.9 from 200+ reviews. Winner of the Peatix Community Award 2026 (Creative Arts Community), chosen from over 250 communities. Performing since 2010, 31 members from around the world.
What entertainment works at a Japanese year-end party?
A bonenkai is the December party where a company closes the year, and the entertainment slot usually falls to the newest staff. The traditional options are a party trick, an impression, karaoke or bingo. For a mixed office, each one has the same fault: it works for one half of the room. Karaoke needs the language. A skit needs shared references. Bingo everyone can play, and nobody laughs.
What works is an act with three properties. Little preparation. The audience takes part without leaving their seats. And the moment something goes wrong is the funniest moment, not the awkward one. Improv has all three by design, which is why the games below need no rehearsal and why a professional improv show is built from suggestions shouted by your own colleagues.
Three improv games your team can run itself
All three are classic improv games we play in some form on stage. No props, no rehearsal, one minute of explanation each.
1. One-word story. Line up five to eight people. Take a topic from the crowd. Going down the line, each person adds one word to a sentence; say "period" to end a sentence and the next person starts a new one. Three minutes. The moment it stops making sense is the moment it works.
2. Yes, and. Pairs. One person proposes next year's company trip. The other must reply "Yes, and" and add one thing. "But", "no" and "impossible" are banned; say one and you swap. Thirty seconds, then the most senior person in the room reads the final plan aloud.
3. Gibberish interpreter. Pairs. One is a visiting expert who speaks only in made-up language, the other is the interpreter. The crowd asks the expert questions; the expert answers with total confidence in gibberish; the interpreter "translates". Three questions, then swap. The expert needs no language at all, which is the point for a mixed team.
What does a professional improv show cost and how long is it?
Fees are tiered by audience size, so we quote by email at info@japancomedy.com. The show runs 30, 60 or 90 minutes; the custom show is 60 minutes. There are four shapes:
Show: the same English and Japanese improv comedy we perform in Ebisu every month, at your venue, with suggestions from your staff.
This Is Your Life!: scenes built on the spot from the guest of honour's true stories. Farewells, retirements, a founder's milestone. It can run in Japanese only.
Custom show: your year, your in-jokes, that one incident. Content agreed with the organiser.
Event emcee: when you want the whole evening run, not just the slot.
An office manager at a translation company called it "The Best Christmas Party ever". Other testimonials are on the private shows page.
How far in advance do we need to book?
Email as soon as you have a candidate date. Cancellation terms are confirmed in the quote, and December has no public show, which makes dates easier to discuss.
Does it work for a team that mixes Japanese and English speakers?
This is what the show is for. Scenes run in Japanese and in English, roughly half and half, with games built on pantomime and gibberish holding the two together. It is built so that nobody needs both languages, or either one perfectly, and the Japanese table and the international table laugh at the same moment. Nobody goes on stage unless they volunteer. If most of your staff have never seen improv, the improv versus stand-up explainer is a useful line in the invite.
Can the show be in Japanese only?
Yes. "This Is Your Life!" and the standard show can both run in Japanese only, and the balance of Japanese and English is set to match the team. Japanese-only or English-heavy are the same request to the same email.
Can it be done at our office or venue?
Yes, the show travels. Meeting rooms, banquet halls, a restaurant you have taken over, a hotel function room. It needs space for the cast to stand and move, and a voice that reaches the back row (a microphone above a certain headcount). A stage and lighting are not required. Venue details are confirmed at the quote stage. If what you want is training rather than a party act, that is a separate page: corporate training.
Does it work for 20 people or 200?
Yes. Fees are tiered by audience size, so we quote by email. A department farewell for 20 and a whole-company bonenkai for 200 change which games we choose, not what we do.
Can we see a show before booking?
Yes. We perform one Sunday a month in Ebisu at What the Dickens!, a British pub a 3-minute walk from the station and 1 stop from Shibuya. Next up are the Halloween Improv Party on Sunday, October 25 and Thanksgiving Comedy on Sunday, November 29. Tickets are ¥2,500 with your 1st drink free, the show runs about 2 hours including a 15-minute break, and there is a full pub menu during it. Some organisers bring the department and make it the first round. Dates and tickets are on the shows page.
Show details
Private show enquiries (quotes at info@japancomedy.com)
Monthly show: one Sunday a month, January to November. Next: Halloween Improv Party, Sunday, October 25; Thanksgiving Comedy, Sunday, November 29
Venue: What the Dickens!, Ebisu. 4th floor of Roob 6 Building, 1-13-3 Ebisunishi. A 3-minute walk from JR Ebisu Station West Exit, 1 stop from Shibuya
Price: ¥2,500 with your 1st drink free. Early-purchase pair ¥4,400 until one week before the show
Length: about 2 hours including a 15-minute break
The riskiest thing you can do with the entertainment slot is hand all of it to one person. A show with no script does the opposite.