Noboribetsu Date Jidai Mura
A visit to this reproduction of a Feudal-Era village is the closest you can get to taking a time machine back to the last days of the Edo Period. Shops, restaurants, theaters, the downtown, and a samurai district are built as they were of yore, staffed by people dressed in period clothing. See ninja warriors fighting in a trick mansion or outdoor theater, local merchants hawking their wares, Edo-Era tenements with life-size models (I especially like the one of the boy in the outhouse), a ninja museum showing tricks of the trade, and courtesans performing in this Disney-esque re-creation of how Japan might have looked when the shogun reigned. Although shows are in Japanese (the ninja shows are probably the only ones that would interest children), the various attractions are fun for the entire family, and if you haven't seen another historical theme village elsewhere in Japan, this rather small one is worth a 2-hour visit (an English-language pamphlet gives showtimes). To commemorate the day forever, you can don a kimono, samurai, or ninja outfit and have your photo taken in front of a traditional backdrop for ¥3,500. Lockers are available on-site.
A visit to this reproduction of a Feudal-Era village is the closest you can get to taking a time machine back to the last days of the Edo Period. Shops, restaurants, theaters, the downtown, and a samurai district are built as they were of yore, staffed by people dressed in period clothing. See ninja warriors fighting in a trick mansion or outdoor theater, local merchants hawking their wares, Edo-Era tenements with life-size models (I especially like the one of the boy in the outhouse), a ninja museum showing tricks of the trade, and courtesans performing in this Disney-esque re-creation of how Japan might have looked when the shogun reigned. Although shows are in Japanese (the ninja shows are probably the only ones that would interest children), the various attractions are fun for the entire family, and if you haven't seen another historical theme village elsewhere in Japan, this rather small one is worth a 2-hour visit (an English-language pamphlet gives showtimes). To commemorate the day forever, you can don a kimono, samurai, or ninja outfit and have your photo taken in front of a traditional backdrop for ¥3,500. Lockers are available on-site.
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