Toei Eiga Mura
Read an article about Kyoto's Toei Eiga Mura. Toei Eiga Mura is a former and current film studio that has been transformed into a theme park and museum.
Toei Eiga Mura 映画村
One of Japan's leading film companies, Toei, has opened its sets to the public at Eiga Mura (Film Village aka Toei Kyoto Studio Park) and the result is a kitschy theme park complete with samurai and ninja shows, roaming geisha and rather cheesy arcades and souvenir shops. There are also various movie-related museums and a number of restaurants on site.
Until the late 1960s, Toei Eiga Mura was the location of the shooting of the great films of the "Golden Era" of Japanese filmmaking. Greats such as Akira Kurosawa made films here.
Other attractions at Toei Kyoto Studio Park include a Haunted House, a Ninja Mystery House with trap and revolving doors, a Ukiyo-e Woodcut Print Museum, Anime Museum and a 3-D Theater. Visitors can also dress up as a geisha, ninja or samurai warrior to wander the theme park.
Shows presented during the day by professional actors include: a Ninja Show, a Samura Sword Fighting Show, a Superhero Show, a Street Vendor Show, an Oiran Procession and a show showing an Edo Period classroom - a Terakoya Show, where visitors learn a bit of history. The Jidaigeki Show ("Period Drama") takes you behind the scenes of shooting a typical Japanese historical drama.
Admission Fee: 2,200 yen for adults.
An actor is traditional Edo Period garb at Kyoto's Eiga Mura
An actor playing a samurai swordsman at Kyoto's Eiga Mura
Toei Eiga Mura (toei-eigamura.com)
10 Uzumasa,
Ukyo-ku
Kyoto
616-8586
Tel: 075 864 7716
Open: 9:00 - 17:00 (March 1 - November 30), 9:30 - 16:00 (December 1 - end of February).
Access: how to get to Toei Eiga Mura
From JR/Kintetsu Kyoto Station, ride four local stops to Hanazono Station on the JR Sanin Line (JR Sagano Line); from there it is a 15-minute walk west or get off at the next stop Uzumasa Station and walk a slightly shorter distance east. On the Keifuku Line (Randen), it is a five-minute walk from Uzumasa-Koryuji Station. Satsueisho-mae Station on the Randen Kitano Line is also convenient.
A samurai sword fight at Kyoto's Eiga Mura
