Is Brother JOYFACTORY TOKYO Worth It? | Tokyo Omakase Sushi Class
Is Brother JOYFACTORY TOKYO Worth It?
Where Old Japanese Craft Meets New Technology
Yes — especially if you want to experience Japan where old traditions and new technology meet. Opened in June 2026 inside Brother’s Tokyo showroom in Kyobashi, this venue lets you do three things in a two-hour visit: swing a samurai sword guided by an avatar of a legendary samurai master on a giant LED screen, sing today’s songs onto an old-fashioned vinyl record, and write Japanese calligraphy with a huge brush and have it printed onto a hanging scroll. Then you take all of it home. Entry is ¥8,800 and includes the samurai experience and a custom T-shirt.
For people who love cooking: I often get inquiries about the samurai experience from men who love cooking and want to use a Japanese kitchen knife. JOYFACTORY is exactly the place for them. I recommended it to one of my guests, a doctor from Germany traveling with his teenage son, after my class. Later, the JOYFACTORY staff let me know the two of them had visited and had a wonderful time.
| Experience | The old | The new | What I took home |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAMURAI LEGEND | Japanese swordsmanship | Green screen, AI-enhanced video, giant LED screen | A video of myself + a T-shirt printed with my samurai image |
| KARAOKE RECORD | Vinyl record, cut on a rare record-cutting machine | Digital vocal enhancement, current songs | My own vinyl record + a digital copy of the song |
| SHODO STAGE | Brush calligraphy | Huge brush, projected stroke guide | A hanging scroll printed with the word “寿司” (sushi), in my own hand |
Who’s behind it: The experiences were developed with Shinji Aramaki, who has worked on the Ghost in the Shell anime series, and the game experience was supervised by Shintaro Kojima, known as a producer of the Monster Hunter series. Generative-AI researchers from the University of Tokyo were also part of the team.
Why trust this review: I’m Kenji. I’ve hosted international guests in Tokyo since around 2013 — as a home host, as a private guide, and now as the teacher of Tokyo Omakase Sushi Class. When Brother was developing JOYFACTORY, their team interviewed me about what international travelers look for in Japan. I visited myself and tried three experiences.
The three experiences: old meets new
SAMURAI LEGEND An ancient art, simulated by AI
This one is included with every ticket. You take off your shoes and put on a martial-arts practice kimono over your clothes, and pick up a sword. A samurai master on a giant LED screen leads you through the moves while you’re filmed in front of a green screen. AI then turns your performance into a dramatic samurai scene.
With a creator from the Ghost in the Shell series and a former Monster Hunter producer behind it, it feels less like a museum and more like stepping into an action game.
What I took home: the video, and a T-shirt printed with an image of me as a samurai.
KARAOKE RECORD Today’s songs on yesterday’s media
In university, I sang in an a cappella club. We formed groups of four or five and built every song with nothing but our voices. And of course, we spent countless nights in karaoke rooms singing the hits of the day together. After I started working, karaoke with colleagues and senior coworkers became part of life too. For people in Japan, karaoke isn’t a tourist attraction. It’s simply part of everyday modern culture.
What makes JOYFACTORY special is that it turns that ordinary moment into something you can keep. You step into a recording booth, choose from about 100 songs, and record. Your voice is then cut into a real vinyl record, with an album cover featuring you. According to the staff, the record-cutting machine they use is a rare model built in the 1970s. It was restored by a Japanese craftsman, one of only a handful of people in the world said to be able to maintain these machines.
Brother’s official announcement also notes that you don’t need to sing in perfect Japanese. Even if you sing in your own language, the system records it as Japanese lyrics while keeping your voice, and corrects the pitch.
What I took home: my own vinyl record and a digital copy of the song. No record player? The label has a QR code for downloading the audio — but the download is only available for 7 days, so save it right away.
If you love karaoke, I can’t imagine a better experience than this. Fair warning: you’ll probably want to come back and record another one.
SHODO STAGE A traditional art, reproduced digitally
Calligraphy has been practiced in Japan for well over a thousand years. Here, you write with a huge brush while a projected guide shows you each stroke, so even complete beginners end up with a finished piece. Your work is then printed onto a hanging scroll.
What I took home: of course, I wrote “寿司” — sushi. It now hangs as a scroll, in my own handwriting.
Why this fits “knowing Japan through sushi culture”
One of my most memorable guests was a doctor from Germany who came to Tokyo with his teenage son. He wasn’t looking for the usual highlights. He wanted to understand Japan: its history, the stories behind its places, and how the past lives on in the present. He asked thoughtful questions, and he listened carefully to the answers.
We visited shrines together, and I had the chance to talk with him about Japan’s spiritual culture. Afterward, we went to Kappabashi Kitchen Town, where I helped him choose a Japanese kitchen knife.
His son, meanwhile, was every bit a teenager of today — I noticed right away that he was wearing an A Bathing Ape T-shirt. Naturally, I took him to the BAPE store in Shibuya.
A father drawn to tradition, and a son drawn to today’s Tokyo. After the two of them held a knife in my sushi class, I recommended JOYFACTORY. Later, the JOYFACTORY staff told me the two had visited and had a wonderful time, and thanked me.
The tradition of the Japanese blade, passed down from the sword to the kitchen knife, brought to life with today’s technology. A place where old and new meet turned out to be a place two generations could enjoy together.
Brother: a 100-year story of old and new
Brother started in 1908 in Nagoya as a small sewing-machine repair shop run by the Yasui family. At a time when imported machines dominated Japan, the family set out to build sewing machines domestically, and produced their first home sewing machine in 1932. The company went on to make typewriters, printers, and embroidery machines, and today operates in more than 40 countries and regions under the philosophy “At your side.” In 1992, a venture team at Brother also created JOYSOUND, Japan’s first karaoke service delivered over a network. Its operator, XING, provided songs and technical support for the Karaoke Record experience.
That’s what makes JOYFACTORY more than an attraction. It’s a place where a century-old Japanese manufacturer lets you play with its own technology:
- Sewing Studio: where Brother began — sewing machines
- Samurai T-shirt, calligraphy scroll, mugs: Brother’s printers
- Embroidered patches: Brother’s embroidery machines
- Karaoke Record: the company’s karaoke heritage
- Shodo Stage’s immersive space: ROOMDIVE, a system Brother is developing
Ginza: where new things have always arrived
JOYFACTORY sits between Ginza and Kyobashi, and the location fits its theme.
In 1872, Japan’s first railway opened between Yokohama and Shimbashi Station. The original station stood in what is now Shiodome, at the southern edge of Ginza. Yokohama was Japan’s great international port, and the railway made Ginza the doorstep of the capital. Imported goods and the latest products arriving from the port reached Tokyo, and Ginza was where Tokyoites saw them first.
That same year, a great fire swept through Ginza and Kyobashi. The Meiji government rebuilt the area as a showcase of modernization, with wide streets and fireproof Western-style brick buildings known as Ginza Bricktown. Merchants opened shops selling imported goods and the newest things, and for the first time, customers could walk in with their shoes on and browse window displays.
You can still see traces of that history nearby:
- Old Shimbashi Station (Kyu Shimbashi Teishajo), Shiodome: Japan’s first Tokyo terminal. The original building was lost in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and rebuilt on its original site in 2003, with a replica of part of the platform and a small railway history exhibition. The site is a national historic site.
- Ginza Bricktown monument, Kyobashi: a short walk from JOYFACTORY, with a replica gas lamp marking the Meiji-era brick streets.
- SL Square, Shimbashi Station: a real steam locomotive on display, placed there in 1972 to mark 100 years of Japanese railways.
150 years later, this neighborhood is still where people come to see what’s new.
Plan your visit
Pair it with a morning sushi class
JOYFACTORY opens at 13:30, so it fits perfectly after a morning sushi class: make sushi with me, have lunch, and spend the afternoon as a samurai.
FAQ
Is Brother JOYFACTORY TOKYO worth it?
Yes, especially if you want hands-on Japanese culture combined with modern technology, and souvenirs made from your own performance.
Do I need to speak Japanese?
No. The ordering and design system, along with some of the activities, is available in English, French, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. Every activity is offered in at least English, and some staff also speak English.
How long does a visit take?
About two hours. You can’t book new experiences more than 90 minutes after your entry time.
Can children join?
Guests aged 8 and over need a ticket and can do the samurai experience. One child aged 7 or under per group can enter free but can’t join the samurai experience.
Can I buy tickets on the day?
Only online, and only if slots remain. Tickets are not sold at the venue.
Is it a good fit for people who love cooking?
Yes. People who love cooking and are interested in Japanese kitchen knives tend to love the samurai experience. It opens in the afternoon, so it’s easy to pair with a morning sushi class.