Thieves pull off ninja museum heist in Japan
A ninja museum in Japan was hit in a heist worthy of the ninja tradition for speed and stealth.
The Iga-rya Ninja Museum near Iga City had a safe swiped containing more than one million yen (about $9,500) with the thieves completing the job in just a few minutes, a museum official said.
"It was a three-minute job," the unnamed official said, even though the safe weighed about 150kg.
The money inside was from admission fees for about 1,000 visitors.
"It was planned, they must have scoped us out and singled us out," the official said.
The museum is located inside a forest making it an attractive target for thieves as it is hidden away from view.
The museum was unmanned at the time.
The heist took place just as the museum was gaining more visitors after a period of lockdown.
"People were just getting more comfortable with all the corona precautions we were taking. This is really terrible," he said.
Ige City is one of the main centres of the ninja tradition which dates back to the Middle Ages.
Ninjas were noted as ruthless assassins, notorious for deception, espionage and surprise attacks.
The ninja culture is still exceedingly popular and is an established part of the tourism industry.
Iga puts on a large ninja festival each year that attracts thousands of visitors.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive