時代村

Wow, now that would be cool to go see in person!!!XD How much did it cost you to stay there Danny?

The statues inside the houses remind me of disneyland's audio animatronics. by any chance are there any singing (?_?)

man.. I would love to visit Jidai Mura

Wow, looks like a lovely place. I love Japanese architecture. Udon and dango looks delicious as well. @_@ Way better than Disney for sure. Hehe I wonder what the guy to the right is staring at here: http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25009/Edo+Wonderland.html#image75229

That was a wonderland indeed! I'm so amazed that they preserved so much beauty of that place! It makes me wanna go there!

ID#75224 Don't worry me too hahaha... Some technique? hahaha...

Awesomeness! If I ever have the chance to go to Japan, that's one of my stops! ( Of course, I'd have to wear my Cowboy hat, vest, duster and boots ^-^ *just for the cultural difference!* )

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25009/Edo+Wonderland.html#image75258

You've just gave the answer yourself... Spinning Top... ^^;

Met any Samurai strolling down the road with Geisha? ^_^

That slanted room picture is really weird. I'm trying to spot some evidence of it being an illusion in the picture, but I can't find any. Had you not explained it, I would have thought that both the ninjas were falling over simultaneously or something.

looks like it was a lovely day to be out ^^

i feel like i've seen this place rendered in a manga before ^^; another place to add to my list of places to go~

Well now thats the sort of park I like.. rich with history.. and not very crowded. Who needs roller coasters when ya got ninjas?

Looks great! I hope the koei movieland park in Kyoto is like that - i intend to visit it in october.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is going to be awesome. I played the original Ninja Gaiden 2 on the 360, and I'm really looking forward to the coop mode in NGS2. Do you have a PSN account, Danny?

WOW Nice place to visit for sure ^^

Great pictures of your visit, almost feel as if I was there. The clothes the 'towns people' have on reminded me of things from other places related to the Edo period that I have seen. Seems 'Kagome' (from anime Inuyasha) was the only thing missing :D.

The ninja rollers made me laugh xD, nice trip Danny!

lol... are those what i think they are on the left hand side of the "geisha" photo?

COOL!
Swords, old school dwellings, great grub, cute kunoichi, plays, games & NINJAS!

Wow, I love the buildings. And the sky is gorgeous. Looks like a perfect day to be there!

Your photo articles are always so informative and full of life, thanks Danny-san >.<

Edo looks wonderful! I would love to try the blowgun game and I would offer an arm or leg for a an authentic samurai sword.

Some amazing pics here, Danny.
Man I'd love to go there. *_______*
It looks so pretty.

I've been in an Edo Wonderland too Danny... it's either a different park, or it has really changed since a couple of years ago...
http://xspblog.com/2009/08/16/japan-trip-3-nikko-edo-mura/

Oh my god... I want to go there! :o

Wow that looks so awesome. ^^ If I ever go to Japan I'm so going go there. Looks like they have lots of cool games to play and toys to buy. The food looks really yummy to boot! In Mexico they also have those wooden tops with a coil around them but I forgot what they're called. >..<

That looks so awesome I wanna go now, this is a definite for my trip to japan.

image ID#75253 - kawaii!
image ID#75258 - a wooden top?

Wow.. that's a really interesting place to go to. Would want to give the Samurai attire a whirl :P

Hohoho, ninjas!! Love'em ^^
So here's another place to visit when I have the time (and paper of course)

Anyway Danny, no ninjas there who showed Ninjutsu like, calling Pillar of Fire, Multiplying or sort?

Wonderful place, will love to go there ^^

That's definitely going in my trip to see Japan. That looks amazing! ^_^

The attractions there sounds fun. Would love to try out dango and tea in that sort of enviroment.

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25009/Edo+Wonderland.html#image75258 -Beyblades!!

Tokyo Dance Ninja Trooper...sounds interesting XD

wow, look great, wish to visit.

LX-3 going to release a new version?

image 75209 - We have knockoff Japanese swords here, too, some peddled right on the street by itinerant vendors, but by god I'd like some of the ones in these.

image 75212 - Mmmmmm, miso-tonkotsu ramen, one of my favorite types.

image 75216 - Great, there's furigana to help me read it - I'd be lost without since I'm no great shakes at reading kanji. That said, that's really nicely printed.

image 75224 - To me too! On the other hand, I'm thinking I need to start carrying a personal pair of chopsticks everywhere.
Short digression: It always amuses me and my partner when we're eating in a Japanese, Chinese, or Korean restaurant and we can use chopsticks somewhat more properly than other locals, who prefer using spoons and forks. Yeah, we're freaky geeky, I know. XD

image 75239 - Nice pose, and great lighting! Your wife got the shot at a great moment~

image 75244 - Oh, my, really? If you pay an extra fee or somesuch you can be part of the attractions too? AWESOME~

image 75256 - How about a ninja outfit with trooper armor?

Aww, no geisha pictures?~ I'm glad you had a great time, and thank you for sharing the trip with us!

Looks like a quaint place to visit ^^

Would like to get some throwing knives and ninja stars, but I'm sure customs would like to confiscate them ^^;

I'm now adding this place as a place I want to go see. I have been to Eiga Mura in Kyoto. The guy in the samurai haircut is me! The picture was taken at the movie park. I have also been to Kawagoe where I took many pictures that look nearly identical to those that appear here. If there are more places like this, I would certainly like to know, but I definitely dislike the silly plastic katana for sale. I'd much rather go to a place rather like the renaissance fairs where the actors and surroundings make every effort to be as authentic as possible.

The chimaki looks like "loh mai fan", well that's what you would call it in cantonese. Sticky rice with meat and sauce, steamed in a lotus leaf. Usually get during Yum Cha.

Great scenery, neat games, cool prizes...definitely a must visit spot...I so want to get a PS 3 just to play Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2...

Danny, you can easily make yourself a quickninja outfit with your many black tee-shirtsu XD thanks for sharing the pix and activities, looks like fun indeed!

it was fun reading the article. The place seems to be a lot of fun. On my wishlist of places to visit if i come to Japan.

Oh, i have to go there. The edo period is one of my most favorite historical periods in japanese history, i just love everything about it, find it so interesting! i even have my own samurai swords! (not those cheap ones in some of the pictures :P) i wonder, is it open all year?

Beautiful and lovely, would like to visit there someday.. ^^

wow looks like a fun place, I should note it down for when I go to Japan, hehehe about the chop sticks reminds me of a Azu Manga Daioh Episode XD

Wonderful photos! I'm definitely grabbing a few from the wallpaper pool.

And I MUST track down that ninja movie!

The ninja roller skate video was hilarious. XD

I'll have to keep this place in mind when I go back to Japan, looks like a lot of fun. ^^

It's exactly where I was suppossed to go last week-end.
But my wife canceled, I'm so jalouse now.

Definitely going to be visiting one of those places when I am in Japan. Love that type of history and culture.

Great post Danny. Really interesting and great photography all around.

Everything looks so expensive x_x
But it sounds like a really fun place.

This is like a thousand times better than Disney World,you dont get to shoot Mickey in the face with darts and ninja stars then Disney might have a chance. By the way Disney just purchased Marvel!!!!!!!!! AHHH scream and run. Anyway awesome pictures.

Image ID#75220, we have something similar here, it's called ma-chang. but it's something you'd only find at Chinese restaurants that serve dimsum.
very nice Pictures Danny. looks like a very nice place to visit. btw the Edo wonderland Nikko link has a very nice intro. ^^

You have a stalker in at least 6 of those photos! (Either that or your wife.)

Cool place btw, you certainly did a lot of eating, looked scrumptious. Am very tempted to go and visit the cute kunoichi.

For some reason I never have problems spliting the chopsticks. Must be the type I'm given.

image ID#75205は「吹き矢」ですな
吹いて矢を発射させるから吹き矢
そのまんまですなｗ

空が青々としてていいですね。遊びに行った先で晴れてると楽しさが倍増する。

Blow Pipe Darts

image ID#75258 これ日本語でなんという？

Jidai Mura looks like lots of fun. I might try and go there when I'm over in Japan. Your photos look really good Danny, makes me want to get a Lumix LX3.

Great coverage. And awesome ninja skate video, whodathunkit? Thanks.

Definately been there before, the cat shrine lol.

Went to the Edo Ninja Wonderland in Nikko this past summer. Didn't know there was another one. Cool!

Danny, the next time I'm in Tokyo, if you ever want to do Tokyo Dance Ninja, let me know. I have the outfit and all the props you'll ever need for that. :-)

Wow that place looks like a fun place to visit, the blow darts and archery interests me a lot.

That's one of the reasons i love Japan :D / Would you actually throw used toilet paper shaped into shurikens to your neighbors? (because i would and you gave me a great idea :D) lol! by the way won't you do a post about the Onsen? (at least a few pics! please i want to see how it looks! :D)

Time warp... I want to vist. As for the Ninja and Samurai sword. Ninja one is shorter I think

Really beautiful photos and a cool place to visit I'd definitely want to buy a samurai sword!!

Edo Wonderland sure looks interesting, have to remember the name.

Seems like a very nice place to visit. I've actually thought about being a Tokyo Dance Ninja or Tokyo dance Spider-Man. lol

The mysterious lady in blue with the green bag seems like a very lovely lady. ^_^

The bus system in Japan really threw me off when I first tried it. Coming from North America I went to the front of the bus to get on and got a lot of really weird looks, took me forever to figure out how the pay system worked >_>

wow - Just wow

Really wish that Australia had some sort of ancient historical heritage

I haven't visited there yet.
I'll visit there this weekend.

Wow, what an amazing area! Beautiful architecture, and seems like a highly interesting experience. I'd love to visit there someday ^__^
Thanks for the insight Danny!

Ah, such gorgeous scenery! Lovely photos, Danny! ^o^

Okay.... just wow, very nice area and i would love to see that in person.
That beats every Themepark i know so far, even Disneyland! *cough* ;)

Thanks for the awesome pics and infos. :)

Wow what a nice place, didn't know there's this kind of place existed :P

And i am looking forward to Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 too ;)

This reminds me of Amatsuki

Looks like a neat place, and I hate when chopsticks break unevenly XD

Your comments about the shurikens and toilet paper was hilarious. I hope they didn't come from personal experience; else I wouldn't want to be your neighbour :P

In all seriousness though, I think this would be a definite place to visit for anyone going to Japan or Hokkaido in particular.

すごい・・・北海道でこんな場所があったなんて知りませんでした。

時代物の漫画描いているので参考になります＾＾

I saw hot springs in the title and thought yippie!!
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu ep 9 candid images on the way
but alas nadda, just bold samurai dudes. :-(

This place is a must visit!!! I didn't knew that there were a thematic park like this. It's very nice, Edo era is the most interesting part about Japan history for me, I hope I can go there one day :) Thank you for such a great post!

Ooo really cool wish i can go there sometime. Did they have any exibition on the Nightingale Floor? It's something to prevent assassins/ninjas though.

Cute kunoichi and samurais at the doors WIN XD

Absolutely amazing! If I ever visit Japan again one day, I'll definitely pay one of these Jidai Mura a visit.

Are those shuriken and kunai really made out of metal ? Gonna need one here for

edo era is nice. who taking the picture when you playing with that traditional weapon and arrow ??

What a cool place, I going to go here next time!
I love Oden... it doents look good, but after a hard days travelling its just the best!!
I so want to buy a samurai sword, but worry abut getting it through customs at home.... hmmm or on the plane! THINK NOT!
The pay as you leave bus things gets me.. I have seen buses packed full, and then somehow you have to position yourself so you can then walk to the front to pay!!! like ???? huh??? how does that work...
The only logic I can think of is, you only pay for the distance youtravel... but if thats not the case then its silly... Pay first so you can make a quick exit would be the way I'd do it...

If I have a chance, this place will be one of my target!!

danny, one question. The boy of the street is a figure??

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/6976/3880164760cb163f96d9o.jpg

hahaha

I believe the decline of the Samurai came towards the end of the Tokugawa era leading to the Meiji era.
They took on more administrative roles / government officials rather than the warrior Samurai of their ancestors.

this place looks awsome must go!!!

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25009/Edo+Wonderland.html#image75246
So cute!

Awesome buildings and, as always, awesome photos! 25 bucks is a bit much though...

Too bad you couldn't find a Ninja costume, Tokyo dance Ninja would be totally epic!

This place surely would be appreciated by the people who wants to know more about ninjas lol.

Tokyo Ninja Trooper is not a bad idea.

Looks awesome, would love to visit somewhere like that.

supposedly, 忍者刀 (ninjato) is shorter and more straight than a normal katana or a 太刀 (tachi) , then there's kodachi (small tachi), wakizashi (which the samurai bring with their katana) etc

関係者以外立ち入り禁止: The person concerned as well as keep off
lol

Very nice. Are most of the signs in English as well ? Or was the one in the pic an exception ?

Great pictures as always. Were these taken with your Panasonic?

I notice that your pictures are usually well exposed. I wonder if there is there any special "sauce" you apply to your pictures. Do you check your histograms frequently?

If I visit Japan I should definitely go there! Usually I don't like these museum-type things but this does actually look good.

I would love to visit there. It looks really nice, especially to just stroll around.
I was wondering what camera you used and was clicking on the properties to see. Then I saw that you took all of these with the LX3. I wonder if it's not too hard to have the alternate text as 'taken with the lx3' or something?

Two weeks ago I was at the Nikko Edo village. It was a really good day. I liked how the actors on the village interacted with each others and the visitors, it brings life to the set. I saw a nice magic show with water and a cool ninja fight with martial arts professionals. And a lot more! The price (around 4000 yens for an adult) really worth it.

wow i really wanna go there ^..^

it looks awesome

i liked the pic of the kids trying to Ninja stab each other lol

Looks like it was an awesome trip. (^_^)

You know what? I prefer going to Edo Wonderland than to Disneyland. I always had a knack for these historical places :D

I really love ninjas. It's probably because they're the ancient world's equivalent of black ops soldiers! :D

image ID#75204: Since this is Japan we're talking about and the fact that these are used as prizes, I'm guessing that none of these shurikens are really sharp, right?

image ID#75224: LOL and I thought I was the only one who had that problem! Glad to know that I'm not alone XD

image ID#75226: They don't build watch towers like they used too. In fact, nowadays, watch towers aren't really used anymore.

image ID#75237: I never really get that idea of shaving only the middle portion of the head and leaving the hair on the sides. Why can't they just shave everything? It looks much more neat.

image ID#75246: I never get tired of those cats :3

image ID#75260: What I like about Japan is that, although it is a modern country, it still preserves its culture and traditions. I believe that it is important to preserve a country's culture because it is the very thing that sets it apart from the others aka it is its identity :D

良い天気でよかったですねー
手裏剣って英語ではNINJA starって言うんですね

really interesting photo article... and i'm amazed as well to see few people... somehow been used to relate japan to crowds everywhere, all the time!

awesome place and great pictures!! I wanna live in that town!

Everyone wants to be a Ninja and a samurai , I call it a Saninja .

Hand signs are just like Naruto , Shadow Clone Jutsu ~~~~

TO me I prefer Samurai then Ninja because they are noble warriors who fight for honor and royalty to the emperor .Ninja have lots of weapons but less armor ( yes they wear light Armor )

Seems like a fun place to be. the ninja maze especially sounded very very interesting. I wonder what the "illusion" feels like :) (I know you explained it's like someone pushing you and feeling dizzy but one can't help but wonder what it would feel like in person xD )
also, danny, you're not balding O_O

A wooden spinning top - it is called a "Top" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top
In Malaysia it is called "Gasing".

Thanks for the great photos and commentary. When I was in Tokyo this past May I visited Kawagoe because you had posted some photos of it. Enjoyed it, but it's not like Jidai Mura. But it's close to Tokyo and easy to get to.

I always wondered why guys in the Edo period prefer to shave their heads and tie a thin roll of hair on top.

It was the same in China during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). While I know this was because the Manchu conquerors forced that ridiculous bald hairdo with a que at the back for every guy in China back then as a means of psychological subjugation, I never knew why the Manchus themselves wore that.

I heard a very silly reason was because as a nomadic tribe originally, these Manchus were often on horseback all the time, and thus needed to keep their bodies as "aerodynamic" as possible for maximum speed...... Wonder if that's the same reason for the horse-riding samurai back then?

Very interesting article there, Danny ^_^ Loved the English on the sign. About made me fall out of my chair. I liked how every Kanji had the hiragana above it for younger people(and gaijin ^_^). I would love to go to one of those Edo period parks, in about three years ^_^

Looks like it was a lot of fun on such a nice day too! I never got a chance to make it to Noboribetsu ( I was temporarily lost trying to get to Lake Akan and ended up in Rausu <<; ).

I didnt know they had so many of these types of places. The only one I knew of was the Egimaura in Kyoto. Will have to take a look if Im nearby. Im guessing the one in Hokkadio arent open in winter?

The chopsticks thing happens to everyone I think ^^. I use a card to cut downwards drop the tip to minimise the irregularity.

Love the cat shrine shot the best!

I need to go to Japan, but I'm going to need lot of time to see all

Ninjas never existed. If someone knew about the existence of Ninjas, then what's the point of Ninjas?

Nice! All of those Japanese culture that I am interest in!

That place is AMAZING!!! I love it!
Must visit someday X)

Danny? Balding? Didn't expect =that= to get mentioned!

Great photos!
I love how they were able to keep all of the old buildings looking like they are new!

I also really love the japanese architecture, it's something very different!
(^_^)

Awesome photo tour. I used to make lots paper shurikens when I was a kid. I could still make them too.

That's such a nice place...would love to go there if i ever get the chance...

good pictures~ the kids pointing knives at each other is very disturbing haha.

Nice - all that seems to be missing are the random samurai and ninjas running about.

I want some samurai showdowns.

Hey Danny do you have any wallpaper sizes for image ID#75243
Would love to make it my wallpaper :)

Hehe. The little nendoroid thing laughing at your misfortune..

And the ninja girl was pretty :O

I always have a lot of fun being in disneyland, can't wait to go to this wonderland when i visit Japan ^^

beutiful day for this photo shoot! i 'like this stuff more than some theme park, partially becasue i get motion sick way to easy, so i like the nature walks etc. so another site on my japan hitlist!

Looks incredible!
I wanna go!!
xD

Absolutely gorgeous pictures! Definitely one of the must-visit-places when going to Hokkaido/Japan. It's very fascinating to see that so much of the past has been preserved, and that spledidly done as well! Must have been an awesome feeling running around that place :-)

Very nice place. I would like to go some day before I die. But I fear that it won't happen.
As for getting your hands on a darksuit, there are several martial arts companies that sell them, especially here in the States. They are even authentic (As authentic as you can get without actually traveling back in time and stealing one.) and have all the hidden pockets. (Yes, I have one.)

Some buses have you pay when you get on - some when you get off. For the ones where you pay when you get off, you need to take a ticket first and when you get off, you put the ticket and fare into the little box by the driver.

At first I thought it sounded like a weird system but then I realised that it actually prevents cheating. Here people buy a ticket to travel say 10 km and this gives them access to get into the bus. They then travel 25 km. Sure the bus companies makes random checks, but way too few to be really efficient.

What a nice play to spend a day, so old-japanese, about what you didn´t recognize in the Chimaki, that is a corn leaf, in my country (Mexico) they are used to prepare a traditional meal called "tamal" wich is basically flavored dough with stuffed inside (chicken, mole, vegetables, etc.)

The other thing with the rope coiling around is a "yo-yo", very traditional here alongside the "trompo" and the "matetena"

Wonderful place, great weather, really nice food, wjat else could you ask for??? ñ______ñ

This is what I would look like there ----> @o@

I used to know all the hand signs, they are for certain energies and states of being. But I know not what they are now because it was a short study a long time ago.

To make a Ninja hood you can use a T-shirt, instead of putting your head through the neck hole, use the neck hole for your eyes and tie the sleeves behind your head and adjust as needed for the "Ninja look".

Wow, what a beautiful place. I hope you had one hell of a day. Thanks for the pictures, this is another place I would like to see myself.

Cool! Kind of reminds me of the Renaissance fairs around here, only permanent.

And it's no wonder you didn't hit anything with those arrows--they don't have any fletching! They must be terribly unstable in flight.

Wow...Nice trip there.
Thanks for the explanation of Shinobi.

Forgot what this is called - a rope is coiled around a wooden spinning top and spun from the rope onto the square thing on the floor.
>It's called the Beyblade!!

pics look great, food looks yummy. did you get to see a ninja hideout with all the hidden rooms and trap doors and such.1 of many things to visit while in japan (definitely on my list to vist).

Sure looks breath taking and a lot of fun too! I'll have to make it one of my "to visit" places.

A Tokyo Dance Ninja should just be a video of the background and the music with nobody dancing.

lol. the chopsticks breaking happens to me most of the time!

Awesome scenery, will definitely pay a visit when I'm in Japan.

LOL @ the Ninja roller...

The spinning thing which tide to a rope it's called "Gasing" over here in Malaysia.

Tokyo Dance Ninja, umm~~~~

Really love the pics. I'd love to go there, lots of interesting sceneries. I hope if I go there I'll see a cute kunoichi too ^.^

Oooh bad luck on the chopsticks, eh? At least it's bad according to Azumanga Daioh's Osaka XD

AHHH its photos like these that make me want to get out of Aussie Land and into Japan D: I freakin' love their culture, traditions, history and what not...awesome stuff. It's just so fascinating.

LOL @ chopsticks...that happens to me a lot too D:

Looks like a fun place to go, informative as well. Much better than the 'old west' tourist traps here in the states. I'm also impressed with the way that their traditional culture is still kept alive.

Wonderful buildings and environment... nice place to take photos.

added to my "places i should visit " list

wow! it's definitely added to my list of one of the must go places in japan.
and i simply can't help but to mention how blue the sky was in your pictures, simply beautiful.

This seems to be a very interesting place to visit! I can't wait to- if I ever get to Japan :D

Despite a tourist facility for money-making, the manager had better stop the false notice.

The explanation about the ninja is not based on documents at all.

And, judging from my sense, this institution is the institution which is totally unbecoming in Hokkaido.

Japan's street are CLEAN like hell, It kinda makes me want to litter it. XD

No seriously, Japanese are very educated people.

Little note added to my "places to see in Japan" for my next trip - too bad I dont know when it'll happen, this year I didnt have a chance, too much problems :-\

woow so amazing I'd love to go there.I'll put in my planing list.
sank u

looks like a lovely trip. and chimaki totally reminds me of Bak Chang that we get here in Penang. yummy~
planning a trip now but can't decide between hokkaido or nikko? mmmm...

love japanese edo things there my favorite!!!XD

plus ninja stuff, i'm going to visit this place.

I'd certainly like to see that place in person.