Robot Claw

Edo was the old name of what is now Tokyo, and during what is now known as the Edo Period (1603 – 1868) Edo was one of the grandest and most populated cities on Earth. 250 peaceful years led to great advances in art, literature and science. Today I visited a theme park called Edo Wonderland which attempts to give visitors an idea of what life may have like for residents of Edo during that time.

I arrived right at opening (9 am) and within seconds of entering posed for a photo with ‘Nyan-mage’. From that moment I knew this was going to be more than a Japanese version of ‘Old Sydney Town’!

The park has several areas (ninja, samurai, commercial etc), and does a very good job of hiding the current era via its design and construction. It’s only open during daylight hours so they don’t seem to have to worry about lighting, but toilets and drink machine and even garbages are disguised so as not to be obvious. Also there’s very little English, so I had to use my translator a lot (even to find out which toilet was for men)!

The staff are all dressed in appropriate period clothing, which means there’s lots of ninja and samurai and courtesans manning stalls and handling crowds. Patrons can dress up as well, but I felt paying ¥4500 to wear a Yukata was excessive considering I wear them for free at my hotel 🙂

The chief attractions of the park are the various shows. Above is the ‘magistrates stage’ show which presents a comedic take (including anachronistic elements like YouTube references) of an Edo-era criminal trial.

I also saw a ninja show which was absolutely fantastic! In a dimly lit room we watched a thrilling story of a lone ninja defeating an entire enemy clan. The stage extended into the audience, and I was at the very front and got a perfect view. The acrobatics and sword fighting (including some in the dark with sparks!) was unbelievably well choreographed, and the hero ninja used most of the cool tricks of the trade including flashbangs, blowing blindness powder at the enemy, monkey-like leaping and of course multi-weapon fighting. I loved it so much!

The ‘water magic’ show was three women controlling water at will. This was done via hidden water jets and while initially (deliberately?) cheesy got more clever in a ‘how did they do that?’ way. Again I was in the front row, and it was amusing watching the facial acting of the two attendant girls on the sides.

As good as the ninja show was the big draw at the park was clearly the ‘oiran‘ (courtesan) show. Comedic and slightly dazzling, this featured three beautiful young women in elaborate outfits doing all sorts of intricate dances and interacting with a lucky member of the audience. I was momentarily terrified when the selector spoke to me, but it seems the ability to speak Japanese was a requirement to be chosen for the stage! As beautiful and graceful as she was, the unearthly voice of the oiran (central in the photo) stood out the most for me!

That was about two hours of shows, and I greatly enjoyed them all. Everything was all in Japanese of course, with not even an English guide to indicate proceedings, but this didn’t bother me at all. Though are the biggest draw of the park, there’s still a lot of other things to see.

For instance I baked my own senbei cracker in a mini cooking class! It was delicious 🙂

I also ate a giant chicken skewer, which even though it was dark meat was quite tasty! This was the first time I needed a garbage (to dispose of the stick) and it took me far too long to realize the innocuous wooden crates here and there were actually disguised garbage bins!

I also visited a jigoku (hell) house and saw countless horrors including an animatronic King of the Dead:

A man-eating plant:

And even this poor chap:

I navigated a ‘ninja house’ with weird angles and dimensions. I went through a tricky ‘ninja maze’ that required you to break some fundament maze rules to escape. I even did some archery and scored well enough (3 of 5 arrows hit the target) to win the ‘special’ prize (a clear file).

Her job was to give out bags to put our shoes in before entering one of the theaters. I asked if I could photograph her since I loved her makeup and she was only too happy to let me. After this I found all the employees only too willing to pose for photos, and wish I’d asked someone earlier!

It was extremely hot and most of the park is outdoors, and when I was leaving about five hours later I was quite tired. But I’m very glad I ignored some of the reviews online saying this is a ‘Japanese only’ attraction since I had a great time 🙂

And what did this tired and overheated young man do next? How about immediately entering one of the worlds largest outdoor mazes which was right next door:

The goal here was to reach the towers on all four corners to collect rubber stamps before exiting.

They have a great system where you get a special card and you timestamp it upon entering and exiting and then can upload your time to a website.

The maze was challenging! Not only is it very large (almost 35,000 square feet) it’s also wickedly designed, and you end up criss-crossing your path multiple times since the bridges add a 3D element. About three quarters of my total time were spent obtaining the fourth stamp, and multiple periods of analysis from atop bridges or towers were required to deduce the correct route.

As you can see it took me about 45 minutes, even though I was scampering through like a mad rat. I had foolishly not purchased water before entering so I was also dehydrating with each step (did I mention it was hot today?) and to be honest it’s a miracle I even made it out alive!

But I did, and then on the way back to the hotel in the back of an air conditioned taxi that floated along like a cloud I saw this from the window:

When I excitedly said ‘monkey’ to the driver he laughed and said ‘everywhere’ 🙂

The hotel is very busy today, and in fact the entire town is. The streets are full of people, and it’s clear Saturdays are popular for onsen getaways since my pre-dinner soak was shared with maybe a dozen others. I was wiser today, and only boiled myself lightly before gobbling down the exact same dinner I had last night:

And then – after writing some postcards and watching an insane show on TV where they sunk various foods (eggs, chicken, watermelon etc) to a depth of 100m for a day and then ate them raw – it was time for these:

Hanabi they are called here, ‘fire flower’. Kinugawa would have one last surprise for me: a fireworks show the night before I depart! The launch point was extremely close to my hotel so of course I went to watch.

They were fired from the opposite end of the suspension bride I crossed yesterday. Since we were so close to the launch point, the sound was unreal. One type of shell in particular was almost deafening upon launch, but the boom when the shells exploded above us may have been heard in Tokyo!

It was a lovely show that drew a good crowd, and was a nice end to my sojourn here in Kinugawa. Considering how little I knew about this place before arriving I’m very happy by what I’ve seen and done, and I hope the future of this resort town is bright. As for hot springs in general, I greatly enjoyed visiting one and using the baths. I’d say it’s extremely likely I’ll be going to another one with Kristin one day.

Tomorrow I head back to Tokyo by train. The restful part of this trip has now passed, and the serious shopping, video gaming and UFO catching is about to begin!

I did a lot of walking today. Tobu World Square didn’t open until 9 so I had hours to kill after my 5 am bath. I completed another loop of the town (both sides of the gorge) and paid more attention to relics that weren’t giant empty hotels. Be mindful that I didn’t exactly have to hunt to take these snaps: almost all these structures are on the main road both in and out of town.

According to the sign on the door, the above was a karaoke bar named ‘Cherry’. It can’t have closed too long ago since it’s still in Apple Maps and the price list doesn’t seem to far off what you’d expect today.

The above was also karaoke, although the refuse visible through the door suggests otherwise. I walked up and had a peep inside the windows and it looked like household waste: what people may store in their garage. I don’t know why the door was open or if anyone actually lives here. I doubt it; it was very overgrown.

The above was a dry cleaners. The Venetian blinds are falling apart, the stickers peeling off the windows and – ironically – the curtains dirty and showing signs of mold. I think this one has been gone a while.

I couldn’t tell what this once was, but it’s obviously in disrepair. And yet the pots have what appears to be new flowers growing in them, as if someone tends them. It had a car park big enough for half a dozen cars that now has weeds growing in it. This also doesn’t show up on Apple Maps.

Speaking of which, there’s an abandoned hotel visible from my room window, up on a rise on the other side of the gorge. Last night I noticed a single light on in one high room. Is someone trying to live there?

This was in the driveway of a home that didn’t look abandoned although very well may be since the letter box had no number or name. The car has a license plate but the roof was damaged like something heavy fell on it at some point. The car looked like it was full of something (boxes?) but the windows were too dirty to see clearly.

The above was directly across the street from a still functioning hotel that looked fancier than mine and was receiving busloads of passengers as I walked past. Immediately next door to the overgrown car an elderly gentleman was cutting and trimming bamboo stalks with expertise. I believe he was making decorations for the hotel. I wonder what he or other locals thinks of the abandoned building and car?

A sticker in the window of an abandoned candy shop (based on a rotting sign outside) near the ropeway. I found a website with a history of the Sprite logo and this particular version was replaced in 1974. It’s hard to believe the sticker could be that old. Could it?

There are at least six bridges spanning the gorge in town and I’ve now crossed five of them (the last is a long walk north). The central one seems to have been a focal point for tourism in the towns heyday and as you can see it is now decorated with a large oni (demon) illustration. I was tired even before I started climbing these steps and as I did it felt like I died, was resurrected and almost died again.

The wall adjacent to the staircase is adorned with sculptures of what I presume are Edo-era people. But the strange wizard playing the flute is a puzzle and seems very out of place amidst the townsfolk and samurai and courtesans. Yet another sight that gave this place an eerie quality today.

This was hung up in the office of the ropeway. It’s an advert for a local taxi company, only it’s about four years out of date. And why are some numbers missing? My guess is they were printed in a different colour (red) that has long faded. Why a functioning business still displays this calendar is a question that will never be answered.

A series of red tori gates led to another shrine in advanced disrepair. This was on the main road into town (not far from Tobu World Square) and I surmise someone built this as a tourist attraction. At first glance it was striking, but then I noticed the peeling paint and worm-eaten wood and the discarded pile of now extremely overgrown replacement gates that suggested this endeavor was abandoned many years ago.

Most of the photos above were taken north of my hotel, but after World Square I ventured south and found a very different side of town. The burger I ate (mentioned in my previous post) was at a cute diner-type restaurant in what appears to be a brand new building. There’s a block of recently built houses nearby, a hotel undergoing large-scale renovation and a lovely suspension bridge with (more) wonderful views of the river:

The bridge led into a cedar forest and a split in the path. One direction led to a short walk to a waterfall:

And the other direction led through a cave,

past a sign warning about bears, up a steep incline, past a little shrine and then ended at a flight of steps that led up to… I didn’t know!

I was very tired – it was after dinner and I already had 30k steps under my belt – but I steeled myself and climbed, and climbed, and climbed some more. The stairs were so steep at times I even had to use my hands and as I did visions of fruit platters and monkeys filled my brain. Eventually I made it, and at the top I found a little lookout with views much better than the top of the ropeway:

I could see my hotel, the station, the post office, and various other places I’d been yesterday or today. I paused for a while and noticed on the tips of branches within reach people had tied notes or left ¥5 coins. I wonder why?

Going down the uneven and steep steps was only slightly easier than climbing them had been and by the time I reached the bottom I had decided if a bear turned up he could have me. None did, and I made it back to the bridge in one piece:

All this is only a couple of minutes from my hotel, and I will be going back to the bridge tomorrow night since there’s going to be hanabi – fireworks! – set off right next to the bridge!

I bet the bears will be thrilled 🙂

Since I neglected to add one yesterday, here is the view from my room. And yes, it really looks this good. I can clearly see and hear the river!

This morning I went for a soak in the hot spring when it opened at 5 am. There were a few others there and I noticed they soaked much less than I did – only a few minutes at most. As I got out after about 15 minutes and almost fainted as I climbed the rough steps to the dressing room I reflected I should stay in a bit less next time.

After breakfast (a pork cutlet sandwich from a convenience store) and some more exploring (see the next entry) I walked to todays destination: Tobu World Square.

This is an outdoor theme park based around miniature (1:25 scale) reproductions of famous structures from all around the world. For the Aussies of a certain age, it’s a sort of Japanese ‘Cockington Green’. The descriptor ‘theme park’ is a bit of a stretch, since there’s nothing really to do except stroll around and admire the models.

This is the sort of place that has ‘limited’ appeal, and I immediately concede it’s not for everyone. But I was dazzled by the artistry of the reproductions and found the park charming.

The human figures are about 7 cm in height and some of the larger buildings, such as the forbidden city in China, easily contain hundreds of them. Very often little stories were ‘hidden’ amongst these figurines, likely missed by visitors who didn’t spend time to scrutinize a model.

The buildings vary from about 30 cm to several meters in height, and greatly resemble the originals. There’s almost no information on how they were made, but the detail level is astonishing and it’s remarkable to think some of these have been exposed to the elements for decades:

I was most interested in the ones I’d visited in real life. Neuschwanstein was a highlight and looked a lot like I recall, though I don’t remember the rooster riding a cat riding a dog riding a horse in the courtyard (this is a reference to the Bremen Town Musicians fairy tale):

There were a few gardeners doing their job while I was there and one of them was using microscissors – the blades were only a few millimeters – to remove individual leaves! I saw another guy cleaning a model using what looked like a baby’s toothbrush.

There were dozens of attractions in five themed sections, and each had descriptions in Japanese and English. I feel starting with modern Japan and the USA was a weak point, since the park certainly improved as you continued along.

My favourite individual model was Abu Simbel. The model is maybe 1.5 feet high and was exquisitely detailed. In fact the entire Egypt section was my favourite, even if it was the smallest in the park:

Tobu World Square more popular than I expected, with guests spanning the age range from a few children (who seemed bored) to the elderly. The place was clean and well-equipped, but as with Kinugawa it feels as if the best days of this attraction are behind it. Based on the dates on each diorama, there’s been very few significant additions in the last decade and certain aspects of the park are showing signs of decay? In addition, the fact that all the restaurants were closed seems telling…

The souvenir shop however was open, and it was remarkably well-stocked as Japanese souvenir stores often are. As soon as I saw they had a medal maker I knew they’d be getting ¥500 from me:

With a 32 character maximum, there was only one obvious choice for the phrase I’d add to my medal:

Surely that’s now amongst the best Tobu World Square souvenirs on Earth? Overall my visit was a little over two hours, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was probably overpriced (at ¥2800) but this is a ‘no budget’ holiday so such concerns never entered my mind 😉

Afterwards I took the local train back to Kinegawa Onsen station at which point I was treated to a steam train pulling out of the station!

I don’t know anything about this, but it looked like a tourist train although was empty as it departed.

I next followed the monkey signs…

…to the Kinugawa Ropeway. A round trip ticket of ¥1200 promised views and monkeys and only a fool would pass that up so I threw my money into the ticket machine.

The views were almost impressive. That’s looking down to the departure station, although the photo doesn’t do a great job of showing how steep the climb was.

That’s a view of Kinugawa from the top of the ropeway, with the monkey ‘park’ in the foreground. It’s a nice vista, but the best scenes here (for me) are right outside my hotel room: the river in the gorge and the corpses of dead hotels!

By the way, look at the above photo and be impressed that since arriving yesterday afternoon I have walked not once, not twice, but three times the distance from the town (center of photo) to the ropeway base! No wonder I’m almost passing out in the onsen 🙂

As for the monkeys…

They were wretched creatures imprisoned in a dirt enclosure. They paced and fidgeted and seemed as interested in me as I was in them. Signs warned they can be savage and merciless beasts, and the double layer of chain fence was obviously as much for my protection as theirs. Look at his face though: does he truly want to kill me, or is he asking me to kill him?

After all this I was ruined, and a double patty ‘100% wagyu beef’ burger (no sauce) from ‘Comet Burger’ may have been delivered on a golden platter by Archangel Michael himself it was so good:

It gave me just enough energy for a second soak in the hot spring, which once again almost led to death due to dehydration. Tomorrow I’ll soak less. I promise!

I’m now in the onsen (hot spring) resort town of Kinugawa-Onsen, and I’ll spend the next three nights here. It’s about 2 hours north of Tokyo and my trip here was on the ‘limited express’ train Spacia-X.

This is a new train, only entering service less than a year ago. It’s very fancy and clearly every aspect has been designed to the millimeter and it shows.

Every seat is reserved, and I was in a normal seat in car 4. It was extremely comfortable and the windows were large with great views. The train has four private compartments, but they were sold out when I booked. I was so dazzled by the charm of the girl at the station who booked my ticket that I foolishly neglected to ask about first class seats, which I should have booked. Given how comfy the normal seats were I can only imagine first class!

The journey was smooth and quiet and I almost fell asleep! For the first half of the trip the views were familiar scenes of Japanese communities and rice fields.

As we entered the mountains the views became more forested, with homes thinner spaced but the rice fields no less common. Occasionally the train sped through dense forests and I glimpsed what seemed like abandoned houses and evidence of rice fields reclaimed by nature.

The train slowed down as we approached our destination, as if it struggled to climb the last stretch. I was fascinated by some of the ancient rusting buildings I saw, including some with obsolete advertising still visible. I felt in a sense I was going back in time. My readings suggested Kinagawa may be a place past its prime, but the mostly packed train suggested otherwise. I was reassured since most of the passengers were Japanese: this wouldn’t just be a tourist trap!

At precisely the scheduled time we arrived and I hurried to the hotel so I could check in and then explore the area.

What I would find was so unexpected and surreal it definitely needs a post of its own…