On our third day, we ventured further to Mie Prefecture which is actually nearer to Nagoya. So what made us go the distance? It’s actually the idea that we can dress up as ninjas for a day in Iga Ninja City and see the Winter Illumination in Nabana no Sato.
However it did not go according to plan, we were delayed by like 3 hours on our itinerary. First, getting to Iga Ninja City requires transfers to different trains and the further you are from the city, the more irregular the trains are and longer waiting times. So basically we got to Iga, past lunch time already.
Before exploring, we had lunch first at this lovely and quaint cafe owned by an old couple near the train station. From there we just walked going to the Ninja Museum and watched a ninja show but unfortunately we’re not allowed to film it thus it didn’t make it here in the video. There’s a shuriken “range” though so we were able to test whether we can pass as ninjas. Also nearby is the Ueno Castle but we just lingered outside because we don’t exactly have the luxury of time. Afterwards, our next and last stop in Iga is Danjiri Hall where we can rent a ninja costume but sadly we got there too late so there goes our dream of becoming a ninja for a day. Lesson learned and our advise to those who wants to be a ninja as well: make this your first stop in your itinerary.
Disappointed, we proceeded to our next stop which is Nabana no Sato. From where we alighted from our train, we need to take two buses before reaching it. We got there pretty late already but we’re there for the illumination display so we didn’t mind the time and just enjoyed the sights and sounds. However, I think we enjoyed too much and we didn’t make it to the train going to Osaka and to go back we have to make a stop at Nagoya which we did. Tired and frustrated but thankfully we were still able to make it back to Osaka.
Video Timelines:
0:00 Intro
0:44 Start of the Day
1:09 En Route to Iga Ninja City
2:19 Lunch in Iga
2:47 Ninja Museum
3:54 Shuriken Throwing
4:53 Ueno Castle
5:07 En Route to Nabana no Sato
5:54 Nabana no Sato
9:20 Ending Credits