The Kabuki-za theater in Ginza is not the only notable Tokyo structure dating back to the 1950s that has shut its doors this year.
With large illuminated lettering affixed to its pasty white facade proclaiming "Adult movies," the all-night Ueno Okura Theater, located in Taito Ward close to Shinobazu Pond and at the edge of Ueno Park, has been entertaining fans of erotic cinema for nearly five decades.
The two-screen building, however, closed Saturday due to safety concerns and aesthetic problems resulting from its aged interiors. But the theater widely regarded as Japan's top outlet for soft-core "pink" pornographic films will continue inside a new complex across the alley and begin targeting a different type of cinemagoer: women.