What’s that lurking in the shadows? It’s Odawara Castle’s enigmatic ninjas ready to reveal their secrets to you in a new online tour.
A couple of weekends ago, I attended an online virtual tour of the Ninja Hall at Odawara Castle. Rekindling my fascination with Japanese culture and my love of travel, this 45-minute long “Secrets of the Ninja” experience was informative and entertaining – and well worth recommending to anyone with an interest in Japanese culture.
I’ve been to Japan twice, both times as a travel writer. During each trip, I was overcome with a sense that I had “made it”. Japan had always been a dream destination of mine. Going there twice to write about it for my job definitely felt like a career milestone.
These days with the Covid woes and lockdown blues, planning a visit to the supermarket or the recycling centre has taken the place of plotting an overseas vacation or trying to secure covetous commission to go write about somewhere on the other side of the planet. So pouring myself a cup of coffee and opening up my laptop to join a Saturday morning press preview of Odawara Castle’s online ninja experience was a welcome diversion from the same-old same-old of my current Coronavirus routine.
Odawara Castle is located in the prefecture of Kanagawa, on Japan’s central west coast about 85k south of Tokyo. During my first trip to Japan back in 2012, I actually stopped briefly in Odawara. En route from Hakone to catch a bullet train to Kyoto from the train station in Odawara, my ride in the back of a cab was quiet and uneventful. That is until the driver pulled up next to Odawara Castle and insist I take a good look around this historic site. The driver’s broken English and my non-Japanese meant little was conveyed or understood about the significance of the site. I remember thinking that I had no idea why this castle was so important and that there was still so much I wanted to learn about and see in Japan. I never would have guessed the next time I would go to Odawara Castle would be via an online tour during a global pandemic.
The Secrets of the Ninja tour was hosted by Hiroshi Jinkawa, one of Japan’s few remaining masters of Ninjutsu. During the session, Jinkawa spoke about the origins of ninjas and their role in society while dispelling myths and filling the gaps between pop culture ninjutsu and true ninja history.
No throwing stars were brandished during the tour, but the key elements of ninjutsu – mindfulness, problem-solving, and stealth – were shared in an inspiring way and in context of the setting. Odawara was once home to the Fuma Ninja Clan that served the Hojo family during the Sengoku period of Japanese history (1467-1615).
My morning dip into ninja know-how and tradition was a fun introduction to a fascinating and – by its very nature – elusive part of Japanese culture. For me, the tour brought back happy memories of my trips to Japan and reminded me why I love travel and how keen I am to return to Japan as soon as possible.
Odawara Castle’s Online Ninja Experience is held on selected Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays with morning and evening sessions. Each session is about 45 minutes long.
Participation fee is 1,500 JPY (about £10.50 or US$14.75) per person.
Find out more about book your tour at discoverjapan.guide/fuma-ninja-experience.
