Kyoto’s Premier English & Bilingual Stand-Up Experience | Ki Bar, Pontocho
Located in historic Pontocho, right next to Gion and Kawaramachi, Kyoto Comedy is the top English stand-up comedy experience in Kansai.
BJ Foxが京都にやってくる！ チケットは毎回完売必至！のバイリンガルコメディアンBJ Foxが、オーディエンスとの軽快なやり取りと知的なユーモアであなたを魅了します！ BJ Foxと過ごす時間は、ただのショーではなく、記憶に残る体験となること間違いなしです！ さあ、笑いの渦に巻き込まれに来てください！ ※１ドリンク制となっております。
2,000円 + 1ドリンク制 (¥2,000 + 1 Drink Minimum required)
チケットを購入する (Fienta)
Hear the hilarious true story of Meshida's 10-year journey escaping corporate office life in Japan for a wild comedy adventure. Featuring sharp cultural observations, unforgettable Japanese punchlines, and pre-show meetup vibes! Founder of The Funny Japan Project.
FREE ENTRY — PAY WHAT YOU FEEL (1 Drink Minimum Required)
Visitors experience Japan through temples, tea and unbelievable food. Kyoto Comedy offers another perspective: Japan through laughter.
We’re a local comedy community and a stage for live performance, bringing together comedians and audiences from Kyoto, across Japan and around the world.
From English and Japanese stand-up to manzai, rakugo, touring comedians and special shows, there’s always something new to laugh about — and someone new to meet.
Whether you live here or you’re just passing through, come for the comedy and stay for the people.
Great people. Great laughs. Nice drinks.
We’re building something Kyoto can call its own: a home for comedy in Kyoto.
Open mic every Friday and live comedy every Saturday at 20:00 — plus special shows, touring headliners, 日本語 shows, workshops and charity events.
NEXT UP2026年10月14日(水) · 開場 18:00 • 開演 19:00
BJ Fox Special Japanese Stand-Up Comedy Showcase in Kyoto
BJ Foxが京都にやってくる！ チケットは毎回完売必至！のバイリンガルコメディアンBJ Foxが、オーディエンスとの軽快なやり取りと知的なユーモアであなたを魅了します！ BJ Foxと過ごす時間は、ただのショーではなく、記憶に残る体験となること間違いなしです！ さあ、笑いの渦に巻き込まれに来てください！ ※１ドリンク制となっております。
1 drink minimum required
気 BAR · 京都・先斗町 · Doors 18:00 · MAP
2,000円 + 1ドリンク制 (¥2,000 + 1 Drink Minimum required)
チケットを購入する (Fienta)
EVERY FRIDAY @ 20:00 (DOORS OPEN 19:00)
An open stage for local expats, students, first-timers, and visiting comics testing fresh material. Come to watch, cheer, or grab the mic yourself.
1 drink minimum required
Ki Bar · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
SATURDAY · OCTOBER 17 · DOORS 19:00 • SHOWTIME 20:00
From Salaryman to Stand-Up Comedian: The funny true story of how a Japanese office worker quit corporate life to pursue comedy.
Airbnb Experience: 1,300+ Reviews ★4.9 / 5.0 | TripAdvisor / Viator: 110+ Reviews ★5.0 / 5.0
Hear the hilarious true story of Meshida's 10-year journey escaping corporate office life in Japan for a wild comedy adventure. Featuring sharp cultural observations, unforgettable Japanese punchlines, and pre-show meetup vibes! Founder of The Funny Japan Project.
1 drink minimum required
Ki Bar · Pontocho / Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto · MAP
EVERY SATURDAY @ 20:00 (DOORS OPEN 19:00)
A curated showcase featuring Kyoto's top local acts, seasoned comedians, and visiting international headliners performing polished material.
1 drink minimum required
Ki Bar · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Shows are performed entirely in English, hosted in a relaxed bar room.
Featuring local, Japan-based, international and visiting comedians.
The lineup changes between shows, so no two nights are quite the same.
Drinks are available from the bar, including non-alcoholic options.
A social room where solo travellers, residents and locals sit together.
No ticket needed upfront. Pay what you feel the show was worth at the end.
Read reviews written by travellers and locals, or leave your own after the show.
When you go to Kyoto Comedy, you can expect a warm, welcoming atmosphere, great comedians with absolute banger jokes and really nice talks with everyone in the club. No matter if you‘re a local, a tourist, a traveller - this is the place to be for a fun night out with absolute wholesome people :) 12/10 experience!
Great English speaking comedy show!! Stumbled on it our first night in Kyoto and made certain we came back 4 weeks later at the end of our trip to enjoy it again!
The best way to start a Saturday night out in Kyoto! The energy in this place is amazing, the staff are fun and the comedians are hilarious...
Current host venue: Ki Bar
123-1 Ishiyacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8002
In Kyoto's central nightlife area, a short walk from Kawaramachi and Sanjo stations.
Located in historic Pontocho, right next to Gion and Kawaramachi, Kyoto Comedy is the top English stand-up comedy experience in Kansai.
Traveling from Osaka? We are a quick 45-minute train ride from Umeda/Namba—the perfect night out in Kyoto!
OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPSKyoto Comedy is currently hosted at Ki Bar, Pontocho / Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Get DirectionsPast and regular headliners from across Japan and the world
International Award-Winning Multilingual Comedian. Winner of Thailand Int'l Comedy Festival, 2nd Place L.A. Comedy Store, featured on HBO, BBC, and Just For Laughs.
@zenjirotokyo
40-year comedy veteran, Netflix special star, and travel comedy pioneer as seen on Comedy Central, HBO, and The Joe Rogan Experience.
Half-Japanese and Arizona-raised, Dan Wilson has become wildly popular online for his hilarious takes on Japanese language and culture. Before stand-up, Dan spent nine years performing traditional manzai on Japanese television. Now he brings a raw, honest, and unfiltered perspective to the stage, digging into cultural truths and the absurdities of seeing Japan from both sides.
Jon Allen is a former physicist turned stand-up comedian who has performed everywhere from SF to New York to Tokyo. Now based in Osaka, Jon is living his second act as a self-proclaimed American refugee in Asia, blending sharp storytelling, viral internet fame, and an outsider's perspective on Japan into a hilarious hour of stand-up about culture shock, reinvention, and the absurdity of modern life.
BJ Fox is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and the mastermind behind Tokyo Comedy Bar, Japan’s first dedicated stand-up comedy club. A true pioneer of bilingual comedy in Japan, BJ wrote and starred in NHK’s first English-language sitcom Home Sweet Tokyo and co-hosts the hit podcast Urawaza Eigo. Seamlessly blending razor-sharp British wit with hilarious observations on life in Japan, he is one of the most dynamic headliners in the country today. Don't miss him headlining live in Kyoto on October 14th!
Meshida is a Japanese stand-up comedian and content creator who performs his routines in English. He left a corporate career as an internet company employee and spent time studying comedy in the United Kingdom, becoming a 2017 London Comedy Store King Gong Show finalist. He is the founder of The Funny Japan Project and hosts live shows, walking tours in Kabukicho, and adult-oriented stand-up shows in Tokyo focusing on Japanese culture, society, and taboos. He also shares comedic videos through channels like YouTube and X (Twitter) with over 200,000 subscribers.
A look back at our featured special events in Kyoto
Local, Japan-based, international and visiting comedians are welcome to apply for upcoming Kyoto Comedy lineups.
APPLY TO PERFORMVisiting or touring Kyoto? Use our dedicated booking portal instead.
VISITING & TOURING COMEDIANS