Iga & Ninjas (maybe) !

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The trip to Iga was interesting. Just for knowledge sake, Iga lies between Nara and Matsusaka and is approximately 3hrs from where the Tan Tans stays. It is the place where one of the most famous and popular ninja clan in japan originated. But to those anime fans, I'm sorry, I couldn't catch any sights of Naruto and gang.

The first sight that greeted us in Iga was "ninja". Take a look at the "ninja" transport below;

Our favourite!! The twin ninja train!

And the shopfront was full of "ninja" too! Cute origami too too !!



And Mr Tan Tan had his shot of being a "ninja" tourist for the moment there too.. but..
he could never surpass the kid with his ninjitsu. ... * _ ^


The other signages around the area are interesting too.. . especially the signage for the restroom.


And at the ninja museum, we were treated to a typical ninja house setup including secret hidding spots and weapon area as well as an introduction to all their equipments, gears etc. But I would say that I was educated to most of the things I saw through anime, manga as well as movie. Now, who says those stuffs aren't educational!!


Video on the hidden door and compartment






Video on climbing and shuriken throwing.

The ninja master who took part in the movie "The Last Samuri" and me, taking the touristy shot with him. . yeah... I am a tourist here ok.

But I would say, overall, I am not really that impressed with the ninja museum and was disappointed with the ninja house. I believe James Bond would do much better with secret gadgets and stuffs at home and any chinese martial arts performing troupe would do better with the "ninja" performance.

Luckily there are always the nice snacks and souvenirs that the Tan Tans bought!
Left: Very interesting snack called katayaki which is a ninja portable ration. It's so hard (hardest in Japan) that you need a small wooden hammer to break it into small pieces. (The Tan Tans heard that some people have broken their teeth while biting through this cracker.)
Right: Just a nice ninja shaped snack. Have not tried so no comments.
Left: Kawaiiii ninja magnet.
Right: The Tan Tans' treasured picture book on ninjas.
Rating of this trip: 7/10

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