After receiving emails from several members about training in Japan, we have decided to create this area.

This area is dedicated to helping members gain information on training in Japan, whether it is at Soke's Hombu Dojo or at other Shihan (senior instructors) clubs.

Please email japan@bujinkanbritain.org if you have any material which you think is of value to put in this area. Alternativley you could post text info or questions on the forum. Information from the forum will be used to create this area, as a forum can be quite hard to extract information from.

Here are a few of the sugestions that have been put forward so far.

1. How to get from Tokyo airport to Noda City/Chiba prefecture by rail.
2. Recommended hotels in Chiba with approximate costs of rooms (with map of area?)
3. Map showing location of Hatsumi Sensei's dojo.
4. Training times, days and appropiate instructors.
5. Other useful info.. where to eat etc.
6. Do's and don'ts... I'm sure that experienced travellers to Noda will have recommendations as a result of their experiences.
7. Other tourist info: How to get to Iga province, Mount Fuji etc.

8. A rough guide to costs ! Flight costs, training costs, accomodation and travel etc..

I would like to thank Mark Lithgow, who has provided much of the contect for this area.

We have created a special area on the BBMACO forum for this topic, which can act as a FAQ as well.

Forum - Training in Japan

Travel - updated 25th June 2006

Here are a few useful maps

Noda Map (D. Hesslington)

Subway Guide

Accomodation

Noda Parks Hotel (Important info) as of 30th April 2006

One of the places Bujinkan people have often stayed is the Noda Parks Hotel. They closed, saying that it would just be for a few months, but I drove past it the other day, and it's GONE. There's just an empty lot there now. So now the only Western-style hotel in Noda is the Tobu Noda.

Thanks to Mark Lithgow for this update.

1. Azusa Ryokan

The normal price of rooms is ¥4,500, but they knock it down to ¥4,300 for Bujinkan people. It's very easy to find. Just come out of Nodashi Station and turn right. At the end, turn right over the railway tracks. Take the 2nd left at the corner shown of the photo and you can't miss it.

. .

2. Bujinkan Masion

An Australian called Darren Horvath keeps an apartment in Noda and rents it out to people coming over for training. He calls it the "Bujinkan Mansion" (mansion actually means apartment/condominium in Japanese). The mansion is within a few minutes walk of the Hombu Dojo ! You can find info on his website. This site also has a step-by-step guide to getting to the Hombu !

The Hombu Dojo

Pictures of the Hombu dojo - these pictures of the Hombu Dojo, Soke Hatsumi Sensei's Dojo, are located on the "Hombu & Ayase Classes" website.

A Detailed map of how to get from Atago St. to the Honbu Dojo .

Training schedule at the Hombu and Ayase

How to get there..

Most people use one of two routes from Narita International Airport to Noda; Narita-Abiko-Kashiwa-Noda or Narita-Funabashi-Kashiwa-Noda.

The following information was obtained from 'Yahoo Japan's' very useful version of the software 'Eki spaato' to get the following on those 2 routes.

Narita Airport St. to Keisei Funabashi St. (6 stops, 43 mins, 720 yen)
3 mins walk to Funabashi St.
Funabashi St. to Kashiwa St. (10 stops, 29 mins on the Tobu Noda Line, fare from Funabashi to Nodashi 450 yen)
Kashiwa St. to Nodashi St. (5 stops, 19 mins on the Tobu Noda Line)
Total time: 1 hr 59 mins. Total fare: 1,170 yen

or

Narita Airport St. to Keisei Narita St. (1 stops, 8 mins, 250 yen)
4 mins walk to Narita St.
Narita St. to Abiko St. (8 stops, 43 mins on the JR Narita Line, fare from Narita to Nodashi 650 yen)
Abiko St. to Kashiwa St. (1 stop, 5 mins on the JR Joban Line)
Kashiwa St. to Nodashi St. (5 stops, 19 mins on the Tobu Noda Line)
Total time: 2 hr 1 min. Total fare: 1,140 yen

There is apparently a bus from Narita Airport to Kashiwa. I've never used it but people who have say it's very convenient. Maybe someone can help with some info on that.

Takamatsu Sensei's Grave

We have been asked to mention that Sensei doesn't like people visiting Takamatsu sensei's grave, Graves in Japan are very private family things and not 'tourist attractions'. Apparently the family got angry when they found that a total stranger had left flowers or something on their family grave a few years ago. Sensei is very sensitive about it, and out of respect to him it would be polite to observe this.

We do have pictures that are in the gallery of his Memorial.

Takamatsu Sensei Memorial pictures