Many of us grew up watching or reading Naruto and have once dreamt of becoming a Hokage, much like the ninja protagonist of the popular anime/manga franchise.
While the chances of becoming the strongest shinobi in the entire Hidden Leaf Village may sound far-fetched, a slice of that dream could now be realized by visiting a newly-opened real-life theme park in Japan.
Dubbed the Naruto & Boruto Shinobi-Zato (Naruto & Boruto Ninja Village), the park features a series of attractions made to replicate iconic landmarks from the anime.
Located on the grounds of the Hyogo Prefectural Awajishima Park, the 8,000-square-meter Hidden Leaf experience is fittingly nestled into the park's forest.
Notable iconic landmarks at the theme park include the gate to the village, Hokage Rock and Ramen Ichiraku.
Other standout attractions include life-sized models of many characters, augmented reality displays, a three-story maze, a Jutsu photo cutout section, and more.
Those who roll up to the attraction can look forward to enjoying a range of athletic activities as well as a maze and more while experiencing the recreated worlds of Naruto and Boruto surrounded amongst Awaji Island's lush greenery.
The theme park also has numerous shops where you can buy exclusive anime merchandise. Oh, and there's an actual Ichiraku Ramen for fans who think they can eat like Naruto and Choji.
Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, who wishes to become the leader of his home village.
The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters, such as Naruto and Hinata.
Naruto is one of the best-selling manga/anime series in history, selling over 250 million copies worldwide in more than 46 countries. It has become one of Viz Media's best-selling manga series; their English translations of the volumes have appeared on bestseller platforms' lists.
Naruto's seventh volume won a Quill Award in 2006, with many reviewers praising the manga's character development, strong storylines, and well-executed fight scenes.
The Naruto story was completed in 2014, and then, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the sequel to Naruto, started in 2016 and is going on.
So, if you're a fan of Naruto or Boruto, Naruto & Boruto Ninja Village is a must-visit destination in Japan.
According to the park's website, tickets for the Naruto attraction cost 3300 yen ($30) for adults and 1800 yen ($16) for high school students.
