Dressed entirely in black with his head wrapped in cloth, Michael Studte throws darts, turns somersaults and twirls lassos in a ninja class for foreign tourists in Japan.
"It didn't seem quite like the normal touristy showy sort of thing," the 40-year-old information-technology engineer from Perth, Australia, said Wednesday, a little breathless after pushing down a mock opponent.
Foreign visitors have always flocked to old tourist spots in Japan like Kyoto, the Sapporo Snow Festival, hot-springs baths and Mount Fuji.