Some sessions put a sword in your hands for two hours, others for a few minutes. Here is our pick, the exceptions and the reasons behind them.
The short answer
For most visitors the best samurai experience in Kyoto is the sword class at the Samurai Kembu Theater near Sanjo: 1.5 to 2 hours in costume with a demonstration, sword technique and a certificate, in groups of up to 10, from age 5.
If you want kendo as the sport is practised, in bogu armour with a sparring bout, book Park for us at JR Hanazono instead. With children under 5, the ninja class run by the Samurai Ninja Museum starts at 3. For one cut with an iaito, Waraku is the only session that lists it, and for a ninja weapon to take home, the forging class by Kendo Experience.
See which sessions still have places on your dates
A kenbu sword class near Sanjo, 1.5 to 2 hours, with costume and certificate. Up to 10 guests, from age 5.
The only session here that is kendo as the sport is practised: bogu armour, a bamboo shinai and a closing sparring bout in a dojo, 2 hours. Meeting point at the JR Hanazono north exit. Not for pregnant women or guests with existing health conditions.
A ninja class of 2 hours with up to 20 guests, open from age 3. It meets at a different address than the museum, so check the booking.
Forge a shuriken at about 800 °C in 2.5 hours, engrave a kanji and take it home. A kunai costs extra. The studio is 1 minute from Hieizanguchi Station, and forged weapons can only travel in checked luggage.
Tell us what you want to do and how old the youngest in your group is. Sessions with a higher minimum age drop out.
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Question 2 of 2
No tour fits every answer, so here is the closest one.
Full bogu armour and shinai. Dojo with a 7th-dan teacher.
Training wear and training swords provided. Strikes, blocks and footwork.
Dojo training with wooden and metal swords. Guided museum tour.
Costume and kenbu sword technique. Certificate and photos.
Real armour. Calligraphy on a war fan.
Blowgun and shuriken. Ninja costume optional.
Ninja outfit. Blowgun and shuriken contest.
Opening demonstration. Wooden-sword practice.
Chambara with professional actors. Your own action video.
Armour and weapons. 10 edited photos per person.
Forge a shuriken at around 800 °C. Kanji engraving.
Tin casting of an 8 to 10 cm ninja weapon. Take your piece home.
Kenbu sword dance on stage. Short hands-on part: holding a sword, a few swings.
Guided museum tour in English. Soft armour to try on for photos.
Also a good fit
Almost every session in Kyoto carries the word samurai, but what you do in it ranges from a sparring bout in armour to an hour in the audience. Our verdict rests on a few points you can check on every product page.
The kenbu class gives you 1.5 to 2 hours of bowing, drawing, sheathing and stylised strikes under an instructor, with a 10- or 30-minute demonstration depending on the option. Reviewers note that the shorter option leaves less practice time and that several groups can share the room. The Kendo Experience session in Shugakuin also runs two hours with training swords, and the museum session adds a wooden and a metal sword in its dojo. At the kenbu show you hold a sword for a few minutes at the end. Show or class compared.
Kenbu is a sword dance from the theatre, not a fighting art. If you want the sport, Park for us is the only session here with full bogu armour, a bamboo shinai and a sparring bout, in a dojo with a 7th-dan teacher. Reviewers say the teacher’s English is limited at times, and pregnant women and people with existing health conditions cannot join. Kendo in Kyoto.
The ninja class run by the Samurai Ninja Museum starts at 3, the kenbu class and several other sessions at 5, Waraku at 6, Kendo Experience and the museum dojo at 7. For the kenbu class the theatre advises martial arts experience from 5 to 10, because children train with adults. Park for us gives no minimum age. Age rules for each session.
The kenbu theatre, Daimyo and the Samurai Ninja Museum sit in the centre around Sanjo and Nishiki Market. Kendo Experience works from the north (Shugakuin, Hieizanguchi, Demachiyanagi), the kendo dojo of Park for us meets at JR Hanazono, and the ninja house and Shogun Studio are in Arashiyama. The theatre has no waiting room and no space for luggage. Waraku moved to a new venue on 21 October 2026 and allows free cancellation only up to 7 days before the start.
Tatami-mat cutting is not a standard part of any session here; Waraku lists one cut at a target with an iaito. For real armour, Daimyo takes you on a walk in heavy armour to the Kamo river, from age 5, with no sword training. At the forging class near Hieizanguchi you shape a steel shuriken at around 800 °C and keep it, packed in checked luggage. Armour and photos and weapon making have their own pages.
For most visitors, the sword class at the Samurai Kembu Theater near Sanjo: 1.5 to 2 hours in costume with sword technique, a demonstration and a certificate, in groups of up to 10, from age 5.
The ninja class run by the Samurai Ninja Museum, which takes children from 3. From 5, the kenbu class, the Daimyo walk in armour and the ninja house in Arashiyama are open to them.
With Park for us, who meet at the north exit of JR Hanazono station. You wear full bogu armour, practise with a shinai and finish with a sparring bout.
The class, if you want to use the sword yourself: the show is an hour of kenbu with a short hands-on part, and photos are not allowed while it runs. The show suits guests who would rather watch.
What you do, the minimum age and the area of the city for each one.
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