What about a walk around the streets of old Japan? If you ever go to Kyoto, you should spend a day at Toei Eigamura (Eiga=Movie, Mura=Village). Also known as Toei Kyoto Studio Park, this is where many of the great films from the Golden Age of Japanese filmmaking were shot. Visitors can travel in time and walk around a Samurai town, including a replica of the famous Nihonbashi Bridge in Edo. The town square and traditional Machiya wooden townhouses complement the historical atmosphere, and there are also actors dressed up accordingly. Everything is designed to give the visitors the idea how Kyoto used to be during the Edo period.

Nowadays the park is still the set for many historical movies and TV drama shoots every year. For indoor scenes, they use the actual studios located alongside the park. Whilst this area is not open to public, there is a "Cinema Studio Live" show performed that explains how Samurai films are shot. You can watch an action scene as if were being filmed and there are even small monitors for the audience so they can see how it would look on TV.

Besides the town set and live performances, Toei Eigamura also features a Ninja Mystery House, a Haunted House, different themed restaurants for when you are hungry, several museums and galleries, and let’s not forget the gift shops. 

You can also rent a costume to get yourself into the Edo Period style and there are dramatic sword fighting lessons if you want to check how the techniques are performed in movies. Just don’t expect to see anything like what we are used to as Iaido and Kendo practitioners.

If you’re planning a trip to Japan when the pandemic is over, you should consider visiting Toei Eigamura.