I’ve been to Japan twice already and am thinking of going a third time when the pandemic ends. I’m brainstorming ideas of things to see this time around. Has anyone been to the Iga Ninja museum? Worth it or nah? I love ninja stuff but I also don’t wanna go if it’s gonna be too little kiddy
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I planned to go during a visit but it was too hard to get there without a car unless you have several days. I took the train to Nara and just toured that city. Very cool with the deer and giant wood Buddha.
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Do what makes you happy, that’s all that really matters.
It’s worth it, especially if you’ve been to Japan twice already. Definitely not too kiddy. Getting there by train does require a few transfers, plus one on a non-JR line as well from what I remember, but it’s not too bad.
Iga Ueno castle is also extremely impressive and adds to the value of the trip as well.
I’ve been and would say it’s ok. First you have a tour of the ninja house with different traps and such. I was with a group of Japanese people for my visit, the explanation was in Japanese, but they have various hidden panels with the text in English that they would reveal. Then there is a small museum with different artifacts.
On the day I went, there was no show. So that would have been cool.
Other than that, I went to see the castle. If I had a bit more time, I would have checked the Danjiri museum.
I absolutely do not regret going as it was working well in my itinerary. I used the Kintetsu rail pass 5day plus. I started in Kyoto, visited south of Nara prefecture, like Kashihara, Asuka, then continued to Iga, went to Ise and finished in Nagoya. However, I would probably not go only for that if it was not working in my itinerary.
Regarding other comments. No it is not hard to go there without a car. By train, it will take a minimum of 2h from Osaka, 2h30 from Kyoto or Nagoya and 1h30 from Nara. So it’s up to you to decide if this is too much for a day trip, or if you want to stop for a night and make it a part of a larger itinerary.
For example if you are really into ninja, you might want to do 2 days and stop by Koka ninja village. I’ve not been to Koka, so you might wan to do some research.
Separately the ninja-dera in Kanazawa is very cool.
Also VR Ninja Dojo in Tokyo is good fun too if you like ninjas.
If you ever make it to the islands off of Onomichi/Imabari, I really enjoyed the [Oyamazumi Shrine](https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-temples-shrines/oyamazumi). Apparently ~80% of all the weapons & armor registered as national treasures in Japan are housed here. There is english, but it’s light.
The Shimanami Kaido bike trip is amazingly worth it to see these normally out of the way spots.
You can try, but you’ll never detect it.
Been to the ninja restaurant in Tokyo?
Go to the parasite museum. It’s the only one in the world and it’s as amazing as it sounds.
What?! If the answer is anything other than yes I’m leaving this sub LOL.
I’m not sure if it’s worth coming here just to visit Iga, but when I went there I had a memorable time.
It was quite a few years back, so I don’t know what’s changed …
I took the JR from Momoyama down to Kizu and then the dinky little two-carriage train from there. I didn’t really know what I was doing when I got to Iga, so I walked from there to the castle ~
The castle itself is great. Pretty small, not comparable to Osaka or Himeji … but very well preserved and quiet.
After that, the museum. Three cute young ladies in pink ninja outfits took us through a house and surprised us by suddenly disappearing and reappearing through various revolving doors, etc.
There was a small area at the end that documents the history of the Iga clan, goes into some detail about the reality of ninja life.
At the recommendation of one of the ninja girls, I went to a shop on the edge of town that sold replica ninja paraphernalia. The owners were super friendly … served me tea and mochi and explained about the gear. Bought a bunch of throwing knives, a beautiful lacquered dagger and a ninja outfit for the girlfriend 😉
I actually planned the day to coincide with the local matsuri, so the evening was pretty wild. The streets were filled with huge danjiri and the din of flutes and drums …
The local shrine (or temple, can’t remember which) had removed some sliding doors to display a collection of old suits of armour. Under the torchlight it was quite the scene.
Anyway, sorry to ramble. I guess as a daytrip out of Osaka or Kyoto it’d be great!
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Based on the photos. Seems kind of targeted towards Westerners. If you’re into it go. I went to a similar one near Fuji on a day tour. It was probably the least exciting part of my whole japan trip lol.
It’s definitely one to check out! I didn’t feel out of place going as mid 20’s a couple of years back
By the way, coincidentally today Feb 22 is Ninja Day in Japan.
2.22 = “Nin-Nin-Nin” =”Ninja no Hi”
A bit late to the party, haven’t been on Reddit much recently, but yes, yes it is worth it. As others have said, make sure to see the ninja show when you’re there. The museum itself isn’t kiddy and is next to a semi-original (ie faithfully reconstructed prewar) castle, plus Ueno in general is a pretty nice inaka town.
Anyone who says the train connection from Osaka is awkward, I’m guessing, has been somewhat spoilt, as there’s only one change and most of it can be done with a limited express (given we’re talking tourist budgets here). Oh and the final bit is the absurdly ninjarey Iga Tetsudo. The Kyoto connection is genuinely awkward though, 3 changes.
Despite feeling quite remote, presumably for the same reasons as saw it become a ninja centre in the first place, Iga isn’t actually that far away from the rest of Kansai, and it might make sense to cut down on doubling-back time by checking out places like Ise/Shima or Kashihara/Asuka/Yoshino on consecutive days or something.
if you consider going to Kanazawa.. which is also nice to see.. but specifically for the ninja part go visit the ninja temple it’s called Ninjadera.
it has lots of hidden doors, seetrough walls, traps etc.. it was really interesting to see..
so far the best ninja stuff in Japan i’ve seen.
ive been there its okay but its really out of the way. Its also more of a family thing IMO than a single person thing.
I did visit to the Iga Ninja museum by renting a car from Osaka. It is definitely an OK place with a small historic castle but in my humble opinion it is not worth the 4 hours drive (round trip) from Osaka or Kyoto: we only spent about an hour there. There was a show but we missed the show and the following show was not soon after. The [samurai & ninja museum in Kyoto](https://mai-ko.com/samurai/ninja.html) is more interactive and fun especially if you are visiting with family or friends. Having said this, the content of the samurai ninja museum is more main stream meaning for advanced learners reserving the experience option or Iga may be better. Overall, if you are to spend more than 2 weeks in Japan and if you have a car then I recommend the Iga museum, if not, samurai & ninja Museum in Kyoto would be a good option.