[Japan Travel]: Iga-Ueno and the Iga Ninja
Here's already the next "travel entry", the second day of my spontaneous trip.
I always wanted to visit "Iga Ueno". It's easily accessible from Kyoto, Osaka or Nara, so I tried to go there during my winter vacation (when I was in Kobe, Nara, Osaka) and also during my spring vacation when I was in Kyoto, but failed both times!!!
....
Good thing I "had to" go to Osaka again and THIS TIME I finally managed to go there.
Now, what's so great about Iga Ueno, you ask?
There's a castle!!! That's already enough for me (^-^')>
Boo, ya say? Iga Ueno is most famous for ninja. The Iga school of ninjutsu (art of stealth), based in Ueno City (Mie Prefecture), used to be one of Japan's two leading ninja schools during the feudal era (the Koga school in Shiga Prefecture was the other).
Maybe you've already heard about in some Japanese dramas or movies (e.g. "Shinobi").
Anyway, let's get started.
There are around 100 photos this time, I'm sorry, but I don't wanna split up this entry and today FOR THE FIRST TIME videos as well!!! :D
(Iga-)Ueno (May 14th, 2010):
It took me about 2,5 hrs to get there from Osaka. You can go there faster, but I didn't use any express trains in order to save money
.......
When I arrived there around 10:45am the people at the small tourist information center there told me that there will be a ninja show right at 11am and that I should hurry up because that's the only show that's confirmed yet for today.
(there's supposed to be a show every hour ....)
So, I didn't want to risk to miss the (maybe) only show of that day and rushed to the ninja museum like crazy. It was raining at the same time, so holding cameras, an umbrella, my purse and RUNNING wasn't really the best idea, but as you can see I made it on time XD
The ninja show started only 1 min. after I arrived there and as it was a weekday and neither any vacation time nor Golden Week there were almost NO people (most of them foreigners! XD), so I could EASILY sit in the first row. YAY!!! :D
I used this opportunity to take photos like crazy and also tried the video function of my new DSLR camera for the first time (see later).
The ninja show itself was quite interesting. It took about 10 min. and was performed by 2 male ninja.
They used different kind of weapons (real! weapons) and demonstrated their power and also explained about the weapons.
That katana easily cut through the bamboo and they also talked about the cut that was left and the difference to other swords etc.
They also performed other tricks that could be done with the sword.
In the past it was also used to climb up walls and stuff.
If I remember that correctly they said that like this it can also be used in a dark night to check if there's an enemy close by.
*LOL* XD
The whole show was quite funny and not too serious :D
The fights were quite nice, esp. when you consider that they used real sharp weapons (*_*)v
I love my "many shots in a short time" - sport mode kind of option of my camera. It was really useful this time!
Although I think the photos turned out quite nice, it's a bit boring to just look at "action" photos, right?
How about watching the fight "live"???
Click to viewHere ya go! What do you think???
I think the quality is REALLY good!!! Of course it can't compete with something filmed with a real video camera but for a digital camera not too bad, right? :)
Here's part 2:
Maybe I'll upload some videos taken with my old camera during my trips as well, so you can compare the quality. That is, if I have some time and won't forget to do so XD ....
Anyways, let's contine:
Of course, shuriken have to be in a ninja show as well. They explained about the different types of shuriken and ways to throw them and then demonstrated it.
But ninja didn't only use shuriken, but also had various other weapons they could throw.
These are kind of scary ;o;
WOW!!!!
After the show we were allowed to go closer and even touch the shuriken and hell they really got stuck in there O_O;
For 200yen (? - I think!) tourists were allowed to try and throw some shuriken as well. As you can see there were a lot of foreigners.
I didn't try, though XD
I suck at throwing things, SERIOULSY!!! Even small balls usually land BEHIND me for some strange reason XD
After the ninja show I went into a "typical ninja house". You could only enter as a group with a guide (= a female ninja showing you around). As I mentioned before there weren't a lot of people. I ended up in a tiny group with only a Japanese couple and .. well ME! XD
It was really interesting to see all the tricks in the house and stuff! :D
A lot of hidden doors, secret rooms, secret hiding places for their weapons etc.
Then it was finally time for the actual museum. Most of the time I was the only one there. They had everything displayed in good English as well so it was a pleasure to read!
I spent a LOT OF TIME there and read everything carefully as it was really interesting and I had a lot of time anyways :D
I'm sharing only some of those interesting things with you now, don't wanna spoil the fun for somebody who wants to go there by him-/herself :D
They explained several times that people mistakenly think that ninja clothes are BLACK, but in fact they were darkblue so that they can't be seen in nights when there's a full moon and it's not completely dark (black wouldn't be the best choice then!)
Yay, Freddy Krueger's ancestors!!! XD
Did you know that there were so many different types of shuriken???? (and that's only a small selection!)
Sorry, couldn't resist (being German and all .. (((((￢_￢) )
Most of the time ninja actually wore farmer's clothes! So they blend in without any problems :)
I thought that was pretty cool! They also had a special type of diet, because they had to stay light (and thus quiet) and they also didn't eat food with a strong smell for obvious reasons.
I think THIS is my favorite!!! (*__*) Hoho~ cool!ニャ (=^・^=)
I also enjoyed reading about "secret communication" a lot :D
I especially liked this method where they used different colored rice grains :D
Well, I've heard of SOME of them, mainly in dramas or movies (^-^'')> ... Hattori Hanzo's probably the most famous ninja?!
So cute!! (*__*)
I finally left the museum (not without buying some souvenirs <- will post photos in one of my next entries XD).
Festivals, famous people coming, TV channels reporting about the ninja museum.
Oohh~ Takeshi Kitano (*_*)v
Next, I went to the Bashō Museum. It pays tribute to the haiku master Matsuo Bashō, who is thought to have been born in Iga. It's not often open, but the building itself, shaped like the hat Bashō wore, is a curious sight.
I heard from a Japanese local there that it's not only the hat, but the whole building is supposed to "look like him" and that the museum is only opened on his birthday (or was it his death day?! argh ...) XD
*lol* I love funny signs! <3
A nice, small garden on my way :)
And here you can see that it was raining earlier that day :)
Woah, cool tree!!!
On my way to the castle (*_________*)v
Awesome colors!
As cute as those signs might be I was like HOMG!! not construction works AGAIN!! NOOOO!!!
But it was not at the castle directly, so no worries :D
Outer castle stone wall and colorful surroundings.
And finally the castle itself!!!
YAY! One more castle on my long list done (*__*)v
But the weather was getting worse again and made it difficult to take good photos ;o;
As it was only a 2-day trip I had enough memory cards to try out different settings and just take as many photos without worrying :D
I tried to go away from the "automatic mode" as often as possible and try more "individual modes" instead - I think that's the only way to get a feeling for the camera in the end *nods*
Again, no people at all (*_*) So nice :D
Luckily you were allowed to take photos inside the castle. Looks like a very old flat iron XD
Look! Ninja even in the castle!!! XDDDD *lol*
I wanna take "Taiko" lessons!!!! ;o; .............. *sigh*
Although the castle was not really on a hill you still had quite a nice view from the top floor :)
I thought Iga-Ueno would be a bigger city, but already when I took the local train from Osaka I realized that we're going into deep deep "inaka" (a very rural area) :D
There were a lot of rice fields, too!
The coulds look nice in this picture :)
Back down and close to the castle there was this nice observation spot :)
I bought the set ticket for the "ninja museum", the "castle" and was now on my way to the last attraction included: the "danjiri house".
On my way I came across another cute sign XD
And finally arrived at the "Danjiri House". Danjiri are large wooden carts (danjiri guruma) in the shape of a shrine or temple. The carts, often being crafted out of wood, are very ornate, with elaborate carvings. Towns with danjiri festivals in them have different neighborhoods, each with their own guild responsible for maintaining their own danjiri cart. The cart is kept in storage for most of the year. As the festival approaches, the danjiri cart is prepared with elaborate flower arrangements, prayer cards, ornaments, and religious consecrations. It is believed that spirits or gods reside in the danjiri. (resource: Wikipedia)
Again I was the only one in there, so the people working there were probably bored. I had a really nice lady showing me around and we talked a LOT!!!
She explained about everything and I got to know about things I would have never without her! (probably)
For example, she told me that it's not good to look down on the carts from the 1F or even higher, you're not supposed "to look down" to the GODS! In ancient times this was not a problem, but nowadays apartment buildings are getting higher and higher, so people tend to watch the festival from their balcony.
Each cart is very unique. She told me so many interesting things, I can't possibly write about them all, but it really made me wanna go and see the danjiri festival in October there! Unfortunately I have to work on these days, so I won't be able to go :/
(maaah, too expensive anyways ^^; ...)
There are also all sorts of demons in this festival (don't know if that's limited to Iga-Ueno, but I heard that it's very similar to a festival in Kyoto, so I guess it's not XD)
Quite scary! If I were a kid, I wouldn't like to watch this festival! XD
Those are the actual carts they're using in the festival!
I bought some more souvenirs in there and then left to go back to the station.
Ueno Park is the park where the ninja museum and the castle are located.
Why I took this photo? XD Because you'll also find a similar sign in Tokyo that leads you to the "other" "Ueno Park" XDDD
That's also the reason why Ueno City is referred to as "Iga-Ueno" so people won't get confused with "Ueno" in Tokyo ;P
Nice flowers. As you can see Japan is quite pink even if it's NOT April! ;P
Took some random and cute photos on my way back to the station.
UWAH! Already past 3pm!!! (o__o'') .... I was quite hungry at that time (ate breakfast at around 7am and that was it!)
Looks like April was nice in Ueno City as well :)
WOW!
I decided to go to eat lunch before getting into trains for over 2hrs again. I entered a really small shopping arcade where I found this cute drawing :D
I went into a small café and after confirming that it's still okay to get lunch there I ordered pasta (*__*)
Yah, not very Japanese, I know, but yummie!: Spaghetti bolognese with eggplant :D
Back at the station.
Ninjas everywhere! XD
My ninja train left shortly after 4pm.
Those cats were really cute! ;o;
The other train's design was cute as well :)
After arriving at Iga-Kanbe station, I had to wait over half an hour until the next train would come, so I decided to leave the station and explore the "inaka" a little bit with all its rice fields :)
The weather was getting worse again, but as I had to spent the rest of the day (and night) in trains, I didn't care at all! XD
It was around 4:30-4:40pm when I took this photo.
I was bored, so I also took some photos out of the train. So many rice fields!! The last time I saw SO MANY was when I went to Kochi :D
Absolutely random shot out of the train (Kintetsu line) from Iga-Kanbe to Osaka (Tsuruhara).
I had to think of "Detective Conan" ;P
Cameras used:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and Pentax K-x
The Pentax photos seem to be wider as their height is shorter.
When I finally arrived back at Shin-Osaka station it was almost 7pm. I wanted to take the Shinkansen that leaves at 7:18pm, but there was a long line of people everywhere and for some reason the ticket machines there didn't take cash, so I had no choice.
That wouldn't have been a problem, but I was SOOOO unlucky!!! The young man / boy in front of me took forever!! I had to watch other lines of people coming and going while our line didn't move an inch ;o; ... in the end I missed my Shinkansen and because I live in a rural area my Shinkansen station isn't a stop on every Shinkansen, so I had to wait for almost an hour until the next came.
When I arrived at the Shinkansen station back home it was around 10pm and then I noticed that the next local train back home would come in 45 min. -__________________________- .... I arrived at my local station after 11pm and in my appartment around 11:30pm which means I was in trains or waiting for trains from 4pm to 11:00pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I fell into my bed and had to get up early for work on Saturday the next day x_X
But apart from that it was a REALLY awesome trip, especially the second day in Iga-Ueno (^-^)v
If you ever have a chance to, you really should go there!
Thanks for reading!
