Ninja Cheese (image intensive)

Having no classes to go to all of a sudden has left a gaping hole in my schedule, and I can only make so many crochet lace doileys sitting at home with nothing else to do. I had originally wanted to go to Hokkaido for the summer, since everyone was telling me that this was the season to go, but one look at the price tag on the tour package gave my bank account spasms, so I had to look for an alternative, and quick.

I finally settled on Nikko, a town in Tochigi Prefecture just a couple of hours' drive away dotted with shrines and temples, and one of the more spectacular tourist destinations outside of Kyoto and Osaka. I had planned to go to the area around Lake Chuzenji for the cultural experience, but after a quick discussion with my sempai, was convinced to try out another area about half an hour north of the lake, an Edo era theme park where visitors could dress up and wander around a 16th century Japanese village. Call it serendipity, because this place isn't mentioned in most travel guides or even the Lonely Planet, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

It was funny when I bought my ticket and the lady at the window immediately gave me a guidemap in Japanese, then did a double take when I asked for an English version instead. I get that a lot. ^^ The first clue I found that suggested this place didn't take itself too seriously was the in-house radio station located at the entrance:

I was in for a fun ride. First up was a live acrobatic performance by ninja, who gamely posed for pics with the audience after the show. I would have liked to take pics of the actual performance since it was allowed and even encouraged, but I'd have to plow more money into my photographic apparatus first.


I liked this guy better though. Ninja air guitar!

The ninja house of horrors and a water performance were nice to look at, and the airconditioning in these areas was most welcome. The ninja maze was fun to walk around in but not too much of a challenge. I tried my hand at archery, but totally sucked, and even had my picture taken with the theme park's mascot, Nyan-mage.

It's a cat with a samurai hairdo, just in case you're wondering.

The park has a topsy-turvy house for visitors to walk around in. Fighting against instinct to stay perpendicular to the floor while gravity is pulling you sideways is not for the faint hearted, or those suffering from vertigo. As for me, I only managed less than 5 minutes inside before nausea made me step out for some air. Yes, I know I'm weak, you don't have to rub it in.

They really pack in the shows in the theme park, and on the way out of the crooked house, we came upon an omikoshi parade, where visitors were encouraged to throw buckets of water at the portable shrine, and by extension, the people carrying it. There was this one sopping wet kid who had the most wicked expression on his face as he gleefully splashed the shrine, but privacy laws prevent me from posting the pic. Gotta love this country.

One of the more spectacular performances was the stage show depicting how shogun of old were entertained by oiran, or high-class geisha. Personally, if I had to lapse into falsetto every third syllable like they did I'd put myself out of my misery pretty quick. What the show didn't elaborate on was that oiran were more courtesans than entertainers, and that their obi were tied in front for easy access to more than just tea and biscuits. Sempai got roped into the performance as a guest of the shogun, but that's another story. ^^

Just in case you thought she was just a pretty face, she was pretty good with a monk's staff (no pun intended) in subduing an armed intruder and saving the shogun from a sticky end.

PWNED!

I'm not sure if it's historically accurate to say that women had such kickass roles in the real Edo period, but it sure was fun to watch. The last open air performance we saw involved bumbling lawmen on the trail of an Edo style Robin Hood called The Mouse. I reckon she was quite cute, actually.

Of course, it wouldn't be true Edo intrigue without a clever ruse involving an impostor. The real Mouse showed up to set the record straight, and gain himself a female sidekick in the process.

It was all terribly cheesy, but it was a well aged, tasty cheddar. It was really refreshing to go someplace where formality and protocol could be jettisoned for a jolly good time. We rounded out the day by making a pit stop at Utsunomiya for its famous gyoza. There was a whole boatload of places serving them, but we settled on this one. Maybe it was because the mascot looked like it was on some kind of hallucinogenic high...

I had the sampler plate of 12 gyoza, each with a different filling:

They mostly tasted similar, but there were a few that I might order again if I go there, such as the cheese, extra-spicy, shiitake and stamina gyoza. The shop also has a delivery service for its frozen gyoza, sent by refrigerated courier anywhere in the country for free. Might give them a call if I ever throw a gyoza party. Lucky I kept their business card. ^^