This article is based on a visit made on Thursday, 3 April 2014.
Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.
Edo Wonderland, a.k.a. Nikko Edo-mura (日光江戸村,
Nikkō Edo Mura, lit. 'Nikko Edo Village'), is a theme park built to re-create an Edo-period (AD 1600s to mid-1800s) townscape. It is located in the town of Kinugawa Onsen (鬼怒川温泉), near Nikko, both of which are 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tokyo.
The nearest train station, Kinugawa Onsen station, is served by Tobu Railway. The fastest method of access from Tokyo is to take their "Spacia" limited express train from Asakusa station. The ride takes about two hours and makes only five stops. For penny-pinchers, the next-slowest service, Rapid (not to be confused with the slower-still Section Rapid), makes a couple more stops and only takes 20 minutes longer, and costs almost half as much. But the Spacia also has the regular trains beat in terms of comfort, so I'd say the upgrade was a wise investment. English timetables are available on Tobu’s website:
(English). But be careful of which train you take! On the above timetables, only the trains named “Kinu” go to Kinugawa Onsen; the “Kegon” trains branch off instead to Nikko!
Kinugawa Onsen is home to many hot-spring resorts, hence the name "onsen". The gazebo structure in the centre-right is a free foot-bath. I meant to try it on the way back, but I was wet enough already. >.<
Kinu-chan (キヌちゃん) and Kawa-chan (カワちゃん), the town mascots of Kinugawa Onsen. One of the kanji in the town's name, "鬼", means "oni", an ogre-demon. Thus, Kinu-chan and Kawa-chan are red- and blue-coloured oni, albeit rather cute oni. Which is good; otherwise you'd scare off tourists!
The central area of Edo Wonderland. The houses contain, in addition to the dining, shopping, and amusement facilities usual of theme parks, re-creations of old merchants' and artisans' homes.
This was a rather rainy day, as you can see by the reflection of the boards in this picture, and the multitude of umbrellas seen in other pictures. That obviously didn't bother all these fish, though!
The crew members working about were dressed in historical, yet sensible, costume uniforms, and in some cases broke out old-style umbrellas like this.
This bell tower is similar to the one in Kawagoe. If you've never been, Kawagoe is a town, 35km (22 mi.) northwest of Tokyo, known for its preserved warehouse disctrict. The stage in front is used for various performances, but on a rainy day like this, that's obviously not happening.
Fortunately, that rained-out show is just one of several performances held regularly in Edo Wonderland, most of them in indoor theatres. I got to see a ninja martial-arts stunt show and a water magic show.
There are other types of indoor activities, too. Pictured here is an exhibit on neighbourhood firefighting brigades in Edo, including the samurai-led
buke-bikeshi (武家火消) and volunteer-led
machi-bikeshi (町火消). They were formed in the 18th century due to the city's propensity to catch fire, with one, the
Great Meireki Fire of 1657 (明暦の大火,
Meireki no taika), claiming over 100,000 lives!
Another exhibit on ninja tools and techniques. Nearly everything a ninja would use could be concealed, either from sight or as ordinary objects, and/or had multiple uses for combat, stealth, surveillance, and survival.
Continuing on the ninja theme, there is also a fun-house with all manner of sloping halls. I don't get what was so "ninja" about this place, but it was fun to (try to) walk through.
Is this hallway crooked, or am I practising the 45-degree lean from Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" video? You make the call!
Beyond the funhouse is a Ninja Trick Maze. I think the idea is that you're supposed to use these to navigate with...
...but I couldn't work it out myself. Regretfully I had to employ the use of one of these exits. OTL
Dining options at Edo Wonderland run the gamut of everyday Japanese cuisine, with options including various noodle, rice bowl, and skewered meat dishes.
I also tried some dango, sticky rice dumplings on a stick. It was tasteless and stuck to the inside of my mouth.
Now for something special. You can rent period costumes and wear them around a bit!
The menu of available costumes is displayed on these panels outside. There are multiple options for men, women, and children, with prices ranging from ¥4,000 for a basic townsperson to ¥10,000 for a nobleman/lady. A full list of costumes and prices is available here:
(Japanese)
Here I am posing in the samurai (侍) costume I rented. That blue colour was an excellent fit for me! The props it came with include a sword (which you're not supposed to unsheath, for obvious reasons), a coin bag (useful for modern accessories, too!), sandals (which were taxing for my toes to hold on to), and for the rainy weather, an umbrella. If you're interested, this particular costume cost ¥5,500 to rent, and is available for men, women (as "swordswoman" / "女剣士"), and children.
Closing out this article with a shot of Nyanmage (ニャンまげ), the mascot of Edo Wonderland! He is named after the
chonmage (丁髷), the topknot hairstyle popularised by samurai in the Edo period and, to an extent, by sumo wrestlers to this day. Of course, Nyanmage sports the hairstyle he was named after.
If you're in the area, you may want to check out the Grand Maze Palladium (in case the Ninja Trick Maze wasn't enough for you), or Tobu World Square, a park with miniatures of world landmarks. Don't forget about Nikko, which is half an hour away by trains, and is home to some of Japan's most famous shrines, temples, and natural sights. If all that seems too much to accomplish in a day trip (and it is), why not stay overnight in one of Kinugawa Onsen's hot spring hotels? Tobu's train passes covering the area are good for two days or more!
Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from March to November, and from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM from December to March. Closed Wednesdays (except holidays), and from 8 to 21 December.
Price: ¥4,700, or ¥4,200 after 2:00 PM (1:00 PM in the winter). If you have a Nikko Area Pass, described below, admission is discounted to ¥4,230.
Address: 470-2 Karakura, Nikkō-shi, Tochigi-ken 〒321-2524
Access: From Tobu Asakusa station, take the Tobu Kinugawa line to Kinugawa Onsen station. Section Rapid trains take 2 hours and 50 minutes to get there; Rapid trains take 2 hours and 20 minutes (both cost ¥1,580). The "Spacia" limited express makes the journey in only 2 hours, but requires a fee on top of the regular fare (total ¥2,940 on weekdays).
Tobu sells two passes which cover a round-trip train ride from Tokyo to the Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen area, Tobu-affiliated trains and buses within the area, and other discounts. The Nikko World Heritage Area Pass
(English) costs ¥2,040, lasts for two consecutive days, and covers trains and buses around downtown Nikko, but not the buses to Edo Wonderland. The Nikko All Area Pass
(English) costs ¥4,600 (¥4,230 between 1 December and 19 April), lasts for four consecutive days, and covers many more buses on top of the World Heritage Pass, including those to Edo Wonderland. Both passes cover only the base train fare, but offer a 20% discount on limited-express fares, and discounted admission to Edo Wonderland as described above. These passes are available only to non-Japanese citizens.
Alternately, from Shinjuku station, take the "Kinugawa" limited express to Kinugawa Onsen. This takes 2 hours and 10 minutes, and costs ¥4,080 one-way. All seats are reserved. As the train is jointly run by JR East and Tobu, the Japan Rail Pass will cover part, roughly half, of the fare. Pass holders only need to pay for the section using the Tobu lines. Other JR East area passes, however, cover the entire trip. More info on these area passes from JR East's website:
(English) However, the Tobu passes described above are not valid for trains to/from Shinjuku.
Directions: From Kinugawa Onsen station, take a bus from platform #3 to Nikko Edo-mura (20 min, ¥410, 3 per hour) to Edo Wonderland. Schedule:
(Japanese)
From JR Nikko station, take a free shuttle bus (30 min, 3-4 per day) to Edo Wonderland. Schedule:
(English)
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
