If born in Japan's Sengoku (Warring States) Period, I could've been a cool samurai or ninja and made a name for myself! Well there's a place where you can turn those fantasies into reality even for just a moment, and that's at Seiryukan Dojo in Tokyo.
There's even a Samurai and Ninja Experience Tour, where you can train with real swords and shuriken!
Experience Using a Real Japanese Sword
In the course, under the careful instructions of the expert, you can cut a goza (a plant-based mat) with a real sword!
There's very few opportunities in modern Japan to experience holding, much less wielding and using, a real Japanese sword. Through this course, fully take in not just the impressive clean-cutting quality of the sword but also its beauty and craftsmanship.
Shuriken Experience
You can throw shuriken - both the ninja shuriken (throwing stars) seen on Naruto, as well as the bo-shuriken (spikes) used by samurai - in this part of the course.
Once you finish the course, you will be presented with a completion certificate to show that you learned about Japanese swords and shuriken. After that, you can have photos taken with the sword, as well as buy your own ninja merch to take home as commemorative souvenirs!
The course is 90 minutes and open to foreign nationals ages 14 years old and up. Japanese nationals can participate if accompanying foreign nationals. Up to 6 people can participate in a course, and the fee is 10,000 yen per person.
See details at the official website for the Samurai and Ninja Experience Tour.
