Living in Tokyo for any length of time tends to instill certain expectations in a person. For example, I have come to expect a great variety of fascinating things to do and see wherever I go. Another expectation I have is that each of these places will have already been filled with enough people to populate a small nation by the time get there. It was with this surprisingly erroneous expectation that I, along with my wife and a friend, embarked on a trip to Ise.
Ise (pronounced ee-say) is home to one of the more famous shrines in Japan. As such, I had no reason to assume it would be any different there. It was not. People had come in droves, from all over the country, to visit the shrine and pray for health, wealth, happiness, and perhaps an iPhone or two. We waited for over an hour just to get a chance to see the main shrine! As is necessary when living in Tokyo, I have developed an ability to enjoy myself amidst nearly fatal crushing pressures, so, even with the crowds, our visit to Ise Jingu was a very nice, if predictable, experience. It was the following day that would really shatter my expectations.
After waiting in line several hours on the first day of our trip, we somewhat ironically decided to go to a theme park on the second day. Our park of choice was about a 20 minute bus ride from Toba station and is known as Chonmage World. Chonmage, I learned, is the name of the hairstyle historically worn by samurai during the Edo and surrounding periods. I can say with full confidence that this was my first ever visit to a theme park dedicated to a hairstyle. I was intrigued, to say the least, but this park would turn out to be different in more ways than one.
Even as we stepped off the bus, I noticed something a bit off. Right next to the bus stop was a parking lot which, for some reason, struck me as large enough to safely land a 747. For Tokyoites, this fact in and of itself is pretty amazing, but what really pushed it over the edge was its complete and total lack of anything even remotely resembling a vehicle. Plainly speaking, the parking lot was empty enough to, well, land a 747. Suddenly, I got a bit nervous. Had our plans gone awry? Was the park closed? I thought about turning back but decided that it was not an option. After all, I am not one to give in so easily to adversity. Also, the bus had already left. So! With Griswold-like resolve, we headed toward the gate.
As luck would have it, we were not to be disappointed. There was someone waiting for us inside the ticket booth. He was very helpful and informative, and he told us all about the park and the various shows that would be put on throughout the day. We were relieved that the park was open, but the utter lack of people was still a bit unnerving. In fact, it was downright strange. Granted, the park had literally just opened for the morning, it was one degree below unbearably cold, and, to top it all off, there was a light drizzle that had been forecast to last all day. Even so, I had figured there would still be at least some people there. Nevertheless, we gave it the benefit of the doubt, bought our tickets, and ventured forth into history.
A View of Chonmage World
Even from the elaborate fort-style entrance gate, we could tell that this park was no joke. Someone had a spent a great deal of money making it into a real, proper theme park. Everything on the grounds, from the buildings and statues to the appropriately dressed staff, was reminiscent of feudal Japan. There was even a full-scale replica of an ancient castle, built on a hill overlooking the park, that we could enter. There was not actually a lot to see inside the castle, but the view from the top was nothing short of spectacular. As we walked around the park, it really wasn’t too hard to imagine what Japan would have been like a few hundred years ago. Of course, there were a few things there which weren’t exactly historically accurate.
A View From the Top of the Castle
Chonmage Castle
I suppose it was to be expected, though. After all, no attraction in Japan is complete without its own mascot, and Chonmage World did not disappoint. Enter Nyanmage, a large white cat with the haircut of a Samurai and a heart of gold. As strange as he may sound, Nyanmage was actually quite endearing. We first caught a glimpse of him just after we entered the park. He was standing in the middle of the road, his white suit wet and slightly browned from the mud, just waiting for someone to pass by. When he saw us, he immediately came running over. He did his best to act shy and cute, and we posed for some very silly pictures. It was quite a good time, really. After finally parting ways, he returned to his vigil, underneath his historically accurate umbrella, waiting for more passersby. Clearly, his costume had been dampened by the rain, but his spirit had not.
Me and Nyanmage
Nyanmage's Vigil
In fact, the same could be said about all of the staff there at Chonmage World. Not only was everyone incredibly friendly and helpful, they really took their jobs seriously. This was perhaps most true of park’s theatrical performers. We saw two shows while at the park and I quite enjoyed both of them. The first was a Ninja-themed fighting and stunt show, which was choreographed and performed impressively well. It even had some pyrotechnics. The second was a comedy show which was, apparently, quite hilarious. At least the other 15 audience members seemed to thinks so. I, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on, which was probably why they picked me out of the audience to participate.
Quite suddenly, I was thrust into a period costume, given a list of Japanese phrases, and unceremoniously shoved out onto the stage. At the time, I had no idea what any of the phrases meant, but the audience seemed to find them quite entertaining as I randomly blurted them out at various points during the show. Later, I found out that they translated into such phrases as “Case closed!” and “Off with his head!” I found myself enjoying the experience without really understanding it, which is another important skill to have in Japan.
At the end of the day, it really was a proper theme park experience. The only things missing were the long lines and the churros, which were apparently not as popular back in the Edo period. With no waiting, we were able to experience the entirety of the park within the space of a day, and, all things considered, it was a day incredibly well spent. I even left the park not feeling spatially or financially violated. So if you’re ever in or around Ise, I highly recommend stopping by, even if just for the novelty of it all. If you do, please tell Nyanmage I said “Hi.”
