TAO-no-Oka is the dazzling entertainment facility created by the dazzlingly entertaining Drum TAO. Set high in the Aso-Kuju National Park, it is certainly one of the world’s most dramatic open-air stages, a ‘Skyward Stage’.

TAO-no-Oka overlooks gorgeous bucolic countryside framed by the Kuju towering mountains and Aso, an active volcano. This soaring grandstand setting is the sensational natural backdrop, where all the world does seem to be the stage, to Drum TAO high-energy, flamboyant performances with wadaiko drum, shinobue flutes, shamisen three-stringed lutes, koto zithers, chants, dance and acrobatics.

Drum TAO, Japan’s internationally acclaimed drumming and dance group, has been based in Oita since 1995. TAO-no-Oka, which opened in 2020, is the group’s new performance and arts complex, which includes an exhibition of the group’s stage costumes created by Junko Koshino, cafe, bar, video theatre and shop, an intimate indoor live performance space.