One of the main reasons why we opted for two nights in Nikko was to visit Nikko Edomura, or Nikko Edo Wonderland – a theme park and living museum that showcases life and culture during the Edo period. The park though not massive in the area it occupies, is very dense with things to do: including cultural performances, activities both for adults and kids, and also food options that reflect the period.
There is a free bus service that starts from JR Nikko Station (not Tobu-Nikko Station), and we caught the first bus at 9:15AM, and arrived at the park itself at 9:45AM. For the return journey, we took the 2:15PM back to JR Nikko Station. We were uncertain whether there would be crowds queuing up for this bus, and also the return journey: and in both cases, gave ourselves buffer by arriving 15 minutes ahead of bus departure timings. As it turns out, that compensation was quite unnecessary: besides the four of us, there were only two other passengers – a couple – in both the outbound, and also return journeys. And yep, same couple returned with us at the same timing!
If you’re planning for a visit:
The park was pretty empty when we arrived at 9:45AM, and remained so until 10:30AM: after which the busloads of visitors started arriving. By the time we left at 2PM, there were a lot more visitors.
We can’t speak for whether the last free bus at 4:15PM that departs the park would be crowded or not. But our hunch is that it likely won’t be on weekdays: so if you’d like to stick around longer and catch the Oiran Procession at 2:20PM go for it.
Two performances – Mizugei-za (Water Magic Show) and Wakamatsu-ya (Oiran Courtesan Show) – require removal of footwear, and you’re giving plastic bags to bring your footwear into the theater. If you’re the kind that hates taking off and wearing footwear, then put on something that’s easy to take off and wear.
The Ninja Maze is a crazy lot of fun if you’re a group or family, as we were. We were debating over which path to take, and it’s amazing how dense the designers were able to make the maze in a fairly small area. There are ‘Surrender Exits’ located at a few places, and there is no shame in giving up: including if you’re lost in the maze and rushing for time!
The costumed staff are all very friendly, and happy to take pictures with you, or even for you.
We lunched at the Yabu Soba restaurant, and had, apparently, the same kind of soba noodles that people of the Edo period loved. There are a few other sit-down restaurants in the park, and besides there a small number of traditional snack stalls, and the ubiquitous ice-cream stand. If you have kids who will only eat french fries and grilled chicken, then feeding your kids lunch might be a challenge!
There are numerous other activities, including courses that are catered for kids and adults. We didn’t participate in them this trip as there were queues formed fast. But if you’re staying in the park for a long period, then these might be worth taking a look too.
Continued in the next post!