I found this article here at Mainichi Daily news! and thought i would share it with you all, i had a little giggle. here a some snippets.
TOKYO (AP) — His head wrapped in cloth and wearing black head-to-toe, Michael Studte throws darts, turns summersaults and twirls lassos in a ninja class for foreign tourists in Japan.
“It didn’t seem quite like the normal touristy showy sort of thing,” the 40-year-old information-technology engineer from Perth, Australia, said Wednesday, a little breathless after pushing down a mock opponent.
Foreign visitors have always flocked to old tourist spots in Japan like Kyoto, the Sapporo Snow Festival, hot-springs baths and Mount Fuji.
But these days, they’re also checking out new offbeat ways to experience Japan like ninja classes, a geeky pop culture in Tokyo’s Akihabara gadget district and animation museums displaying manga, or Japanese-style cartoons.
The visitors at the 15,000 yen (US$139) ninja class said they had seen ninja in samurai movies, manga and the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and wanted to try it out.
The travel agency that set up the 2 1/2 hour ninja class, H.I.S. Experience Japan Co., also offers make-your-own-sushi workshops, “taiko” drumming classes, a visit with sumo wrestlers and sake tasting.
Ninja master Masayuki Waki, 49, who was teaching newcomers the art of fleeing grabs and choke holds, acknowledged foreigners were more interested in spirituality and other things Japanese than are most Japanese.
“They are so dedicated,” he said. “People abroad are far more drawn to the sensibilities of survival than are Japanese, who tend to take comforts for granted.”
Jason Chan, 28, an information-technology business analyst from London, who has also visited Spain, Germany and Hong Kong, said he had fun playing ninja.
“I watched the movies, and ninjas are always the ones that get away,” he said. “Generally it’s a misconception that traveling in Japan is really expensive. I actually find it pretty reasonable compared to everywhere else.”
With this said no one should forget the power of ninja, especially if their green and have a shell on their back! (i love the ninja turtles) i think it would be great fun to just try out to be a ninja, i definately would be horrible at it because I’m te biggest klutz! i would probably end up on my ass most of the time, but hey its all in the name of fun, right!
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