Iga Ueno - Ninja Museum, Iga Beef, Iga Ueno Castle

Day Trip from Osaka

In the West, Ninja Turtles is a cartoon which features turtles who fight against evil. In Japan, according to historical records there were Ninjas. This covert group is none other than nimble secret agents who are clad in black and trained in battle tactics to assassinate their enemies(The Samurai Clan).

There is a mysterious aura surrounding this group and a thin line between fact and fiction. The Ninjas are rumoured to have extraordinary magical skills which include art of concealment, walking on water and control over natural elements. Also the origins of the Ninja are highly debatable! *Japanese folklore states that the Ninja descended from a demon that was half man and half crow. Whether you believe the story or not, I am sure these invincible creatures will delight the whole family as you spend a day roaming around Iga Ueno - Ninja Town!
*I extracted the Origin from here

At Ueno-Shi Station
They even have Ninja Trains -






Ninja figurings around Town






Since you are there, you might want to visit
(1) Iga Ueno Castle & Ueno Park(it has same name as the park in Tokyo) - It is the tallest castle in Japan and seats atop walls which are 30m high! One thing which I love about castle is that it gives you a 365 deg view of the landscape below.



I have been to about 8-10 castles in Japan. But this was the first time I caught sight of paintings on the ceiling of the top deck inside the castle. Perhaps I am not observant enough!


(2) Iga-ryū Ninja Museum

The Ninja Museum is highly entertaining with a demonstration of the agility of the Ninja in a mini mock up of a Ninja's House: Think Trap Doors, Hidden Passages & Secret Compartments - it sounds like a scene out of a spy movie! It is quite interesting seeing live action even though the whole show is narrated in Japanese. And trust me to pull off the stunts ain't as easy as it looks! You need to be swift footed and quick minded while wearing an 4-5kg armor! - I doubt I can qualify as a Ninja! The museum in highly informative with a couple of hands on sections, which give you the opportunity to role play as a Ninja. Do visit the other museums around town.







Most of us have heard of Kobe Beef, but do you know that the Iga region is also famous for Beef? There are many Beef Shops featured on the tourist guide(you can pick up a copy at the JR Station) I had Sukiyaki at this shop which is near to the train station and recommended by a local. The meat was heavenly!


You might find this site useful

Enjoy Yourselves!

Getting There -
1) Take the JR Line from Osaka to Kizu
2) Take the JR Kansai Line from Kizu to Kamo
3) Continue along the JR Kansai Line from Kamo to Iga-Ueno
4) Take the Iga Tetsudo Iga Line from Iga-Ueno to Ueno-shi

Getting around Town - On Foot

Hita

If you have a daughter, you might like to bring her to Hita during href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll_Festival">Girls' Day aka Hina-matsuri on March 3. On that day, around 200 of the The Kusano family's Hina Dolls are displayed at the oldest house in town. The old houses along Mameda-machi and Kuma-machi also open their doors to invite visitors to view their collection.





I visited Hita because I wanted to see the impressive doll collection in Mameda(the central area of town). Even though it was after the Girls' festival, you can still view the dolls in many of the souvenir shops around town.

In Japan the citizens are strong advocates for Road & Traffic Safety. In the different towns, the message maybe the same but the means of promotion is often different! While visiting Hita, an added bonus was that I managed to catch sight of a vintage car parade! The Road Safety Flags given out to residents and tourists served two purposes 1)Promotion of Traffic Safety 2)For them to support the drivers when they drove past. I am not too sure if this parade is an annual affair, but I caught sight of it on 10 April at around 10.30am. If you would like to catch the parade, do give the tourist centre a ring to confirm the details before heading there.

Vintage Car Parade







*Beer drinkers might like to head to the Sapporo Beer factory. There is a guided tour for visitors followed by a tasting session. Kanpai!

You might like to visit Hita during these periods:
1)Gion Festival (First Sunday after July 20th)
2)Tenryo Festival (Third weekend in October)
3)From July to November, catch sight of fishermen erecting bamboo fish traps in the Mikuma river. A must eat during this season is the grilled Ayu fishes.

Getting There
From JR Hakata Station, board the Yufuin-no-Mori Express to JR Hita station (approx 78mins) I have taken a number of bullet and ordinary trains, but this was the first time that the stewardess came round with props!

Nokonoshima Island Park

Take a day trip out of Fukuoka to visit Nokonoshima Island Park, a family friendly park! With the bright blue sky, well manicured plots of colourful seasonal flowers and Hakata Bay as the backdrop. It is a visual feast for the senses. Perhaps because this park is off the mainland, therefore when I visited it, I didn't see hordes of tourists. On the contrary, this park is popular with the locals as Bungalows and Cottages are available for rental. The park is pretty big, so set aside at least 11/2-2 to cover its grounds. Satisfy your hunger pangs at any of the restaurants or lay a mat on the grass and have a picnic! I enjoyed strolling through Omoide-dori as it is a replicate of an old town. If your child loves animals, there is a "mini zoo" there too.












The rental cottages -



Getting there
Board the subway in Hakata to Meinohama Station, take the Nishitetsu Bus to Nokonoshima Ferry Terminal. You can either walk to the park or take the bus bound for the Park.

It takes about 30-45mins to walk there and here are snapshots of the view along the way -










Signing off this post, with pics of Cherry Blossoms. The smell of Cherry Blossoms reminded me Almonds