Reviews
Definitely worth a visit, the people working there are such nice people, it's like one big family. Now the experience is good fun, it won't last hours, but fun nonetheless. My customers enjoyed it a lot and that's what counts for me. Some points:,not many people speak English, so an interpreter is recommended, also bring insect repellent.
come here with children, but choose the ninja house if without. many activities here, but not so informative. lucky enough, we had a personal guide, ryan (thank you btw if you read this).
free shuttle to koka station.
It was a little out of the way but there was a shuttle bus from the station which was convenient. We took our two boys 10yo and 8yo and they had fun. I think it's pretty basic, we were out of there in 2hrs and it probably wasn't worth the trip there from Kyoto in my opinion. My kids did have fun though and the throwing ninja stars and the walking on water with the rope were highlights.
amanda mcgrath
10 months ago
We visited the Ninja village on a weekday. From the minute we got there we were met by friendly and knowledgeable staff.
We were given a tour of the village and learnt about the history of the village and the area , my husband tried all of the activities. I recommend the Ninja village to any one visiting the area. Very family friendly.
Charlotte Romero
a year ago
Koka Ninja Village was easily the highlight of the entire trip. Let me start by saying that the staff was incredibly accommodating. We arrived at the station and just called their number for them to arrive within minutes to pick us up and shuttle us there, which is only about a ten minute drive away. As a heads up, I didn't find a phone at the station but if you have the Line app, you are able to make short, free calls internationally and that's what I used to let them know we needed their help. When we arrived, they asked which train we would like to take to get home and let us know what time we would need to leave the village in order to make it to our desired train. They even came to find us being silly at one of the rock walls to let us know it was time to go. AND they very kindly stored all of our backpacks and the stroller we had so we didn't need to carry it around. Just incredible people.
Next, I wish we had more time, really. We were there for two hours and we all wish we had more. The first place we went was the shuriken range where a very nice man taught us how to throw shuriken and we got to practice on different tiers of distance. I eventually got a bullseye and feel really good about that. Kids are allowed to throw, too, which is great. The shuriken are dulled so it's safe!
There are so many "ninja training" activities around the park, too. We spent so long at each of them having fun trying to do them faster each time, especially the log run and the wall run. The water shoes made for hilarious videos and are probably some of my favorite memories. We were told we were definitely using them wrong but, as we were also told, no one has really figured out how to use them right.
The museum was incredible. Take a lot of time there. Old ninja clothes, scrolls, grappling hooks, weapons- it's so cool. Another very impressive highlight is the house of trap doors. My niece had particular fun with this one as our tour guide made it a guessing game to determine where the trap door is.
There's also a ninja grave by a temple that is coming apart. It's beautiful and a little eerie and I could have stayed there for a long time. You can buy fortunes there, too, for the usual very cheap coin donation. I took a picture of mine before tying it to the tree so that way I could always remember what it said!
We ended up missing out on the pottery workshop and the restaurant, both of which we were hoping to do but because of reviews, we underestimated how much time we would want. I can't wait to go back to try those last two things out. I seriously can't recommend this place enough. It's an amazing place to be silly, try some physical challenges, and experience a history that isn't easy to find. If you have the chance to make it to Koka Ninja Village, please do it.