Our next and last stop for the day is Iga-Ryu in the town of Iga a bit off the main tourist trails. But we had to come here because what is a visit to Japan without seeing a Ninja House? And Iga-ryu (the Iga school) is one of the two most well known schools of ninja in Japan. We are really surprised how unmarked this attraction is, there are no signs from the highway so we are are happy that we are prepared with a map. After parking we are not sure where to go but the parking attendant who doesn’t speak English points to a different kiosk where we receive a map of the park in English. As we get to the museum we are afraid that it is closed as there is no one around but the office is open and we buy tickets however the ticket attendant makes us wait until they can get an English speaking guide which takes a bit.
Finally we enter the museum which starts with a typical ninja home with lots of traps, hiding places and weapons hidden in caches throughout the house. The guide is showing us the usage of all of these with descriptions in English actually being written down throughout the house. We even enter a few of the hiding places to see what a hidden ninja would see if somebody would invade the home.
After the house the guide points us to where the museum continues and leaves us. The next section is dedicated to the different tools of the ninja from which disguise seems to be the most important. Rarely did they wear the black garb that is so prevalent in the movies, most of the times they dressed as peasants and entertainers to blend with the population and enter the castles unnoticed.
Of course there are also quite a few weapons and a few tools of the trade can actually be used like a pair of snowshoe like shoes that were used to pass through marshes and moats that were considered to be impassable. We also find out that Hattori Hanzo that we know off from other popular culture channels was actually a well known ninja from the Iga clan and helped Tokugawa Ieyasu, the future shogun, in the hour of his greatest need.
The last museum building is describing the detailed knowledge of the ninjutsu of the nature and natural signs so they can orient themselves, treat themselves when sick and avoid detection. Overall it was very interesting and worth a visit and we are surprised that it seemed we were the only visitors at the time in the whole museum.
After the museum we decide to visit a few other highlights in the park. Right next to the museum in a quiet and peaceful location is a Poet Memorial Hall dedicated to Matsuo Bashō born nearby, the most famous poet of the Edo period a master of the haiku.
The other major attraction is the Iga castle where only the keep has been rebuilt. It looks quite impressive even when compared with the Osaka keep, and because of its architecture and color it is known as the “White Phoenix castle”.
We climb to it then enjoy some nice views and then after relaxing a while we decide to descend to the car as we have still some driving to do to our next hotel.
After a few false starts where the trail disappears in the vegetation we return to the car and from there drive to our rest for the night at the bottom of the Fuji mountain, Fujinomiya. Here we have our worst night of the trip with a group of drunken Japanese banging on walls and shouting through the night so the next day we are not as refreshed as usual.
