Kyoto’s Uzumasa Eigamura Reopens: Immersive Edo Adventures Day & Night
An incredibly fun immersive experience!!
Kyoto’s Toei Kyoto Studio Park has been renewed, and Phase 1 will open on March 28, 2026, under the name Uzumasa Eigamura.
Inside the buildings where you can play together with characters from the Edo period, there are also adults-only activities that are off-limits to anyone under 18.
I experienced a variety of attractions, including 360° real-time dramas staged throughout different areas of the park and services where you can be dressed in authentic period costumes. I was able to enjoy a very modern style of entertainment together with the high quality and theatrical direction that only a real filming location can offer.
There are also attractions where you battle oni while enjoying physical games that children can play too, so I highly recommend it for families with young kids as well.
Please take a look at this early access experience report.
Uzumasa Eigamura: Daytime Experiences
At Uzumasa Eigamura, you can enjoy two types of immersive experiences: daytime activities and dangerous nighttime fun.
Kyoka Fortune-Telling
You can enjoy three different kinds of fortune-telling here. Inside the building, there are lots of decorations themed around hanafuda cards.
The main attraction is the money fortune.
You can enjoy a game similar to casino roulette. The dealer asks you to choose chips in your favorite color. The chips are decorated with a variety of patterns.
Using 10 chips, you try to predict where the ball will land on the Japanese-style roulette wheel. You can choose between blue and red, or you can even pick numbers from 1 to 36.
Since you can spread out all 10 chips, you can decide whether to place them separately to increase your chances of winning
Since you can spread out all 10 chips, you can decide whether to place them separately to increase your chances of winning, or aim for a big payout by placing them all in one spot—or maybe two or three.
It really reveals your personality.
On my first try, I aimed for a strategy where I might win in about three spots to collect more chips, but I missed.
On my second try, I placed four chips on blue to increase my chances, and used the remaining six chips one by one on red spots.
The result was blue.
Perhaps because I placed them in a way that made winning more likely, my money fortune was judged as a “small blessing.”
I was told to spend money carefully today.
Next time, I want to aim for a “great blessing.”
There are other types of fortune-telling as well. In the love fortune, you choose your favorite hanafuda card, then open the drawer with the matching design to receive your fortune slip.
There is also a unique fortune called “Kyoto Ikezzu Fortune.” Using a fortune stick container like those found at shrines, you open the drawer that matches the hiragana character that comes out, and your fortune is inside.
Samurai Training Hall
This is a swordsmanship dojo where samurai teach you how to handle a sword.
After learning sword forms and techniques, there is also a commemorative photo session.
The casual conversation between the two samurai is also very entertaining.
At the press preview, we were even shown a match between them.
Event time: 10:00–15:30
Location: Bukeyashiki, Room 2
Ukiyo no Kyo Asobi (Uzwaku Machiya)
Here you can enjoy “Kyo Asobi,” where actors teach you Kyoto culture and period drama manners and language through play. You can also take commemorative photos inspired by ukiyo-e.
You can listen to flute performances and enjoy traditional games like beanbag play together with other participants.
Location: Uzwaku Machiya
Duration: About 30 minutes
Schedule: 10:30 / 11:30 / 12:30 / 13:30 / 14:30 / 15:30 / 16:30 / 17:30 / 18:30 / 19:30
*Available at night as well
Oike Machiya (Ikebana)
In the preview experience, I was able to try ikebana (flower arrangement).
Under the guidance of an instructor from the Ikenobo school, you can experience authentic flower arranging.
You can also experience tea ceremony, Noh, Kyogen, Kyoto dance, shamisen, and festival music here.
*The cultural experience program varies depending on the day.
Please check the schedule for cultural experiences.
[Official] Cultural Experience Schedule
Costume Studio
You can experience period drama costumes and traditional Japanese outfits here.
There is also a full-scale transformation experience where you can wear wigs.
The dressing process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
Some costumes are only available for photo studio shoots, but many can be worn while walking around Uzumasa Eigamura, allowing you to take photos at various spots throughout the park.
Uzumasa Eigamura: Night Experiences
At night, there are shows that are restricted to guests aged 18 and over.
You can enjoy the thrill of adult-only entertainment, such as traditional gambling experiences and even intense torture-themed attractions that may be too刺激的 for children.
Even members of the media seemed to forget they were working and fully enjoyed themselves.
Cho-Han Gambling
Amazingly, you can experience Edo-period gambling.
Many people may recognize the classic lines from period dramas such as:
“Place your bets! Come on, place your bets! The dice are set… let’s see the result! Two and one—odd!”
This experience faithfully recreates Cho-Han gambling using two dice.
You can actually place bets using bundles of small wooden tokens.
The energetic female dealer is incredibly cool.
After the call “Place your bets,” the dealer puts the dice into a small container and places it on a straw mat. You then place your tokens on either “even” or “odd.”
You are given several bundles of tokens in advance and can bet as many as you like.
“Cho” means the total of the two dice is even, and “Han” means it is odd.
If you win, you receive the same number of tokens as you bet. If you lose, they are taken.
Since the game is played multiple times, your tokens can increase if you keep winning—but if you bet everything and lose, you’ll run out.
However, in this gambling den, if you run out of tokens, they’ll immediately lend you more.
Unlimited borrowing—amazing, right? (laughs)
But they firmly remind you:
“You’ll have to pay it all back at the end!!”
It was a great way to experience the thrill of Cho-Han gambling.
Event times: 16:25 / 17:10 / 18:35 / 19:20 / 20:05
Timed entry ticket required
Location: Bukeyashiki, Room 2
Duration: About 25 minutes
Distribution location: Information Center
Distribution times:
[From 15:30]
16:25 / 17:10 sessions
[From 17:35]
18:35 / 19:20 / 20:05 sessions
*Guests under 18 are not permitted
Adults-Only Torture House
This is a torture-themed attraction where you can either be subjected to torture or act as the one administering it.
In the preview experience, only the “being tortured” experience was available.
An official magistrate and his subordinate bring in a criminal.
Apparently, an incident occurred in the park the previous night.
The suspect denies the crime.
To force a confession, they begin a torture method where the suspect kneels on a board lined with triangular wooden spikes, with stones placed on their legs.
They even add a beating with wooden sticks.
Eventually, the magistrate realizes there may be accomplices—and the suspect looks toward the audience.
Selected participants are then chosen to undergo torture.
You are made to kneel on the triangular wooden board, with stones placed on you.
The stones are actually light, so it doesn’t truly hurt, but if your reaction is dramatic, the magistrate praises you.
“You must have told a lie before, haven’t you? Of course you have!” the magistrate presses.
Depending on your “confession” and responses, you may be tortured further—or even spared.
The triangular board actually seems quite painful. When a woman was selected, she said it hurt too much and kept stepping off immediately.
But there was actually a trick to avoid the pain.
It was amusing to see the magistrate secretly teaching her how.
This attraction really tests your reaction skills (especially if you’re from Kansai!).
Adults seriously enjoying torture—it’s a rare experience you won’t find elsewhere.
Uzumasa Eigamura: Review
In short—so much fun!!
There is such a huge amount of content that the three-hour preview experience was nowhere near enough.
If you really want to enjoy everything, you should plan for around six hours.
Many immersive facilities focus heavily on storylines, but here, I strongly felt the immersive atmosphere created through casual, improvised interactions.
The actors quickly respond to participants’ actions and turn them into conversations, making it easy and fun to engage.
It was a relaxed yet deeply immersive way to enjoy the Edo-period world.
Even if you’ve never experienced immersive entertainment before, or if you’re visiting with family, you’ll definitely have a great time.
For international visitors, this is also a place where you can experience traditional Japanese culture with high quality.
Uzumasa Eigamura: 360° Real-Time Drama
Stories unfold throughout various locations in the park.
From the dynamic sword fights to the captivating bridal procession at the finale, there’s so much to see.
For a detailed report, check out the next article:
Spoiler video below:
↑Double tap the image to play
Uzumasa Eigamura: Restaurants Featuring Famous Kyoto Shops
A separate article will cover the food you can only eat at Uzumasa Eigamura and the collection of famous Kyoto restaurants available inside the park.
Theme park expert in Universal Studios Japan and Expo 2025 Osaka. CEO of Happyell Inc. and Editor-in-Chief of Theme Park Media Happyell. Visiting USJ for 25+ years, Crystal Rank member, sharing guides and crowd forecasts.