This costs 4210 yen one way and takes 2.5 hours, but was overall worth it in my opinion. From there you can ride the special ninja train to Iga Ueno Station and get off to reach the ninja village. Rewrite the history of feudal Japan with an army of the ultimate guerrilla warriors: ninjas The shogun has fallen from power, plunging the land into chaos as feuding feudal lords scramble to take his place. Accessįrom Kintetsu Nagoya Station, take the Kintetsu Limited Express to Nabari Station, then transfer to the same express going to Iga-Kambe Station. If you are interested in reading about the history of the Iga Ninja online before you go, please check the Koka Ninja House website. Not to mention Iga is a peaceful place with friendly people so your time will be valued here. Much of the now-abandoned ninja culture has been preserved here, so this is a rare chance to see it if you are interested in the history of Japan. As someone who lives in one of the busiest cities in the world, I have great appreciation for places like this. Some of the attractions seem a bit gimmicky, but like most rural places I’ve visited I still enjoyed my time here. Before entering the temple compound, we have to pass by the Nara Park, where we were welcomed by the freely roaming Deers. The city itself is quite small and can be seen within 4 hours. Ninja Village and Nara Experience, Nara, Japan (B) Today, we first went to Nara, which is famous for its Worlds biggest bronze Buddha. Iga is roughly 2.5 hours from Nagoya and is quite a long day compared to the other attractions I mentioned in the first part of my article. There are also ninjas poised to attack inside the train car, so you are best off practicing your defense techniques beforehand (jokes aside, the short ride through the mountainous terrain in this two-car train is incredible). Riding the train from Iga-Kambe Station to Iga-Ueno Station is a one-of-a-kind experience because the train artwork was done by Reiji Matsumoto, most famous for Galaxy Express 999. UK born Fukuoka, Japan based photographer.
Iga is located in Mie Prefecture but the whole city can be seen during a day trip from Nagoya or Osaka. Orin (Bell) showed me how to throw shurinken (metal star weapons) on the target practice range. Since this village is very remote, the number of tourists is usually lower than other attractions in Kansai.
There are also ninja shows performed by professional actors, shops and shrines, and a large castle you can enter. Though the historic practice of Ninjutsu is now considered a dead art, this village houses a large museum showcasing its origin. Yesterday I talked about visiting Legoland Japan and Nagashima Spa Land in Part 1, so today I’d like to talk about my expedition to the Ninja Village of Iga. Hit the road, walk around town and local shrines, bars, supermarkets.View from Iga Ueno Castle overlooking the city of ninjas. Come on, what did you expect for commercial line-up-buy-a-ticket establishments. Enjoy the ambiance and don't assume Disneyland, which is a fake as fake can get, oh sure, squeeky-clean as if it were America in those incongruously white suburban 1960s.īut be honest with yourself, man-made attractions in Japan require a healthy dose of disbelief. Provincial Japan has a limit to its "attraction" attractiveness. We got to the castle and learned its miserable history (kids climbing all over it in faux ninja gear.) We did NOT go to the ninja-land or the Edo-era courier museums but figure they would have rated about 7-8 on a 10-point scale. We started noticing people, families all in Ninja gear - little munchkin kids, Moms, Dads, even the family dog had a happi-coat and mock sword. We rode up to Matsuzaka Beef country, stay the night in a mountain onsen spa and got to Iga on day 3. FIrst is the original serene pristine shrine, but whoa, next door is a replica, about 700 years old, built by local merchants to tap into the lucrative (even then) tourism trade. Stayed at a local inn on the coast, then took the ferry to Toba and rode over to the Ise Shrines. We are Japan residents as well as bicyclists, and a few years ago we did a trip by Shinkansen to Hamatsu from Tokyo with bikes in bags, the got off and rode down Rt.