It's the end of our first week and we're in Kyoto with high spirits. Waking up in a hostel is a fresh experience for me and I was eternally grateful to my prepared self that I brought earplugs. But enough about that, we were back on the train and off to Nara!
 |
| Meek as a lamb, but kawaii none the less |
Nara
A well known town for its big park with roaming deer, Nara offered us a great walk between the Sakura while being surrounded by hungry deer, out to eat every last morsel of food you have with you. We went to visit the Todaiji temple with another great and majestic statue of the Buddha, housed in an even more admirable temple before heading back to the station.
 |
| Another magnificent 50meter statue |
Iga Ueno
About an hour away from Nara by local train, lies the city of Iga Ueno. It's a remote city (really, practically no european tourists) known for its ties with the teachings of ninjitsu, or as they like to call themselves, the city of Ninja!
 |
| Now that's a welcome sign! |
And let me tell you, all is in sign of the Ninja. From the shops with specific toys, to the trains with specific stickering. To make it even better, today was the first day of the Ninja festival (ongoing till 5th of may) and because of that, the town was dressed up even more!
 |
| Did you buy a ticket? |
We went to Ueno castle, a place where we found out lots about the Ninja and local history. Because of the festival almost all children were dressed up, and there was a big meeting in front of the castle where children were being entertained, it was cute, you had to be there.. ;-)
Inside the castle a lot of artifacts were displayed and especially a lot of armour (in great state).
 |
| Even they had castles to defend! |
This really had our interests running and we found the real Ninja museum deeper in Ueno Park. Let me tell you, it was great. Not only do they have a house that was really used by ninjas back in the day, they also displayed some tricks right before your eyes. They also show you how the Ninja got their status and you find out more on how they lived and what they really did. Do NOT miss out on this if you are in Japan and a fan of Ninja.
 |
| Great costume, great actor, friendly person! |
We luckily caught the last show of the day, of which I couldn't take pictures (:-(), but my fiancée got to take part in it, and even threw a real throwing star (with success!) it was a great show of which some European shows could learn a thing or two! We returned exhausted back to Kyoto for some curry-rice and are now plotting our next move!
 |
| Stampuh! |
Comments