A movie set theme park in Kyoto has come up with what must be the strangest attraction ever offered by a theme park: a torture chamber.
Uzumasa Kyoto Village recreates a typical Kyoto village set in the feudal era, allowing visitors to experience life during the days of the samurai.
The park, which reopened at the end of March following a refurbishment, is home to the film studios used by Toei Company, one of Japan's major film companies, known for producing period dramas.
One of the ‘highlights’ of the theme park is watching a torture interrogation in which visitors are accused of a crime and taken to the torture chamber.
Surrounded by torture devices, visitors can learn about Edo period interrogations and the dark side of the judicial system through an interactive show that, the park points put, “involves no physical pain”.
The torture chamber is one of the attractions of the adults-only night time experiences at the park. Another is a gambling hall modelled after a samurai residence, where visitors play tsubo-furi, a dice gambling game.
Other favourites at the park include a ninja course, ninja maze and a horror dollhouse.
Future plans include the opening of a red-light district a theatrical playhouse and a bathing facility.
The operating hours of Uzumasa Kyoto are divided into day and night sessions with both ticketed and free attractions.