An Expedition to Edo Wonderland

Edo Wonderland is easily one of my favorite spots in Japan and a definite highlight of my trip to Nikko. The buildings, the shows, the clothes, AH. So great. I honestly didn’t think it would be as fun as it was, and by the time my friends and I left, we were still finding things we wanted to do!

What is Edo Wonderland?

It’s a theme park based on Edo Period Japan! There are different areas in the park based on different classes of people, and the staff and buildings reflect that. For example, the buildings in the commercial district were narrow and crammed together, and the atmosphere was loud and bustling with shopkeepers advertising their wares. The samurai district, however, was very quiet. Buildings were wide and grand, and the staff dressed very proper.

What can you do in Edo Wonderland?

A better question might be what CAN’T you do in Edo Wonderland. You can attend one of the many performances, giving you a unique insight into specific aspects of Edo Period life, or you can roll up your sleeves and try your hand at something new with their numerous experiences! Examples of performances include a ninja show, a play about courtesans (oiran, not geisha), and a water magic show. Experiences include a ninja maze, samurai training, shamisen playing, indigo dying, and and Edo work experience just for kids.

My Experience

Oh, did I mention you can dress up? That was the first place my friends and I ran to. There are many different costumes (and prices) to choose from, and whatever you pick, the staff will interact with you based on what you’re wearing! One friend and I became female samurai, while my third friend transformed into a shinsengumi. She explained what they were and I couldn’t help but laugh — they were a kind of police force back in the day that were very anti-foreigner. And off we went, three foreigners, one dressed as an anti-foreigner, walking around the streets of the Edo Period. We got many chuckles of amusement from that, but many people muttered ‘so cool!’ to each other as we walked by.

We eventually wandered over to the samurai district when a staff member called out to us in English — “Would you like to do a samurai experience?” Let me think… YEAH! There were three or four experiences, all first come first serve. There were only three spots left for one of them in the afternoon: horseback archery. We joyfully signed up, then kept exploring.

Highlights of the rest of the day included…

• …meeting a large group of shinsengumi that quickly adopted my friend (and all of us, really) as part of their group
• …going to the ninja show and immediately wishing we could jump back in line
• …a ninja yelling “SAMURAI!” at my friend and making a cutting motion, after which my friend grabbed her sword like she was going to attack him, causing the ninja to bow deeply and apologize profusely
• …eating some of the most delicious yakitori in my life
• …reading about Edo Period firefighters
• …getting lost in the ninja maze.
• And of course, the horseback archery.

Horseback Archery

We returned to the samurai district for our experience, only to find that the other members doing it with us where the group of shinsengumi we’d been running into all day haha. When we entered the room, there were three small wooden worse replicas, complete with saddles, and one giant replica on the far end. We each got arrows and learned how to tuck them into our belts, then we got our bows. We practiced taking arrows out of our belts, nocking them, then shooting. Last, we got to try it from on top of one of the wooden horses!

It was so. much. fun. First, you bow to the horse. Then you wait for a samurai attendant to come and hold the saddle in place for you while you mount. Next, you hold the reins and the bow, then start ‘galloping.’ The teacher then started yelling in Japanese, “Ok! You’re going a good speed now, a good speed now! Nock an arrow! The target’s getting closer! Closer! Readyyyy. FIRE!” and we’d all let an arrow loose. Once we finished shooting, we had to ‘stop’ our horses, wait for the attendant to come back, dismount, and bow to the horse again. All done!

After we finished, I asked one of the teachers what the giant horse was for. He explained that that was for the sensei. He only comes a few times a year for exhibitions and stuff. That horse replicates a real horse and the base actually spins around. He nocks an arrow while the horse is moving, rotates with the arrow nocked and bow drawn, and shoots the target. Sounds pretty impressive! I wish I would see it!

Final thoughts

There were so many things we didn’t get to do while we were there, so I’m already looking forward to the next time I can make my way out to the Edo Period! If you can afford it, I’d really recommend dressing up — it’s not everyday you get a chance to walk around like a samurai!

There is little to no information in English about dressing up on the Edo Wonderland website, so I’ve translated the price chart myself. Here is the Japanese version and here is the English one I made. You can also click here for a description and pictures of each costume (Japanese only).