I step on a train to Iga Ueno and I slowly work my way back from the properous big city atmosphere of Fukuoka to the deep backwater of Japan - Iga Ueno and Mie. JR has decided that Iga Ueno wasn't worth a train nor tracks, so they forfeited the area to Kintatsu Rail, which is in no way an even trade. The trains here run less regularly, are more ricketty, and much, much slower. Yet, I find myself enjoying the small silences and the odd trains as I travel back and forth from Iga Ueno to where my hotel is at Kawamachi. Life is slower here over all, not just the trains. The people are laid back, yet also not "tourist-polished" - the people at the desk talk back to me/over me and are generally rude. Seems that not all Japanese are cut from the same government-mandated mold, which I think is a good sign.
It took nearly two hours longer to get here than I first thought, making my arrival time in Iga Ueno, bagless and ready to attend the Ninja museum, at about 4 PM. No one had any idea what MokuMoku farm was, nor where it could be found. Ah, well. Shooganai.
The Iga-Ueno Ninja museum was an interesting place. Out of the 4-5 people there dressed as ninja, I could see that maybe one of them had any talent/training. The house was a fun collection of various stage tricks and secret tunnels, which, if invented when they said they were, would be quite an accomplishment. The Japanese people on the tour and the tour guide himself was impressed when I neatly folded myself into a secret compartment. After showing us the short sword (a mix between a katana and ninja-to) under the sliding floor (which he removed with an impressive slide), he let me hold it and strike a pose for the camera. There were some new pieces of information I learned which fit my current interpretation of who the ninja were. The fact that the ninja became artillery specialists when the Tokugawa reorganized the Imperial Army bodes well for the theory that they were siege monkeys. There were also some wholy foolish things about ninja mind control and how they changed their diet to prevent smell (which, coincidentally, just happens to be the diet for every Buddhist monk). Considering the connections they had, it wouldn't surprise me that they ate that way because they liked to eat that type of food. Another fun "fact" - ninja always slept left side down, hand over their heart. Supposedly, the hand or their side would stop a sword from piercing their heart. Anyways, even with all the drama, the museum was fun. I just missed one of their ninjitsu presentations, something I'm kicking myself for. Oh well.
As for the rest of my time here in Iga Ueno, I had a gigantic meal at the hotel, followed by a nice Japanese-style bath. After that, I relaxed in my room for a while, then went outside to swing a few bats with the huge baseball team who is staying here. Right about now, I think I'm going to write some postcards, then head to sleep - Tokyo Challenge tomorrow!
