Stealthy Thieves Stole $9,400 From Japan’s Ninja Museum

A popular ninja museum in Japan was caught off guard when stealthy thieves broke into its office and ran away with $9,400.

The staff at the Iga-ryu Ninja Museum, a tourist attraction in central Japan, called the police as the alarm set off at 1:15 am on Monday, August 19.

But it was too late as the thieves left with a safe containing one million yen (about $ 9,400) collected from admission fees over a busy weekend when the museum got over a thousand visitors.

It took the thieves only three minutes to lift a safe believed to have weighed 150 kilograms (330 lbs) out of a one-story wooden office, according to local media.

Police said that the museum’s office was pried open, possibly with a crowbar.

“We are very disappointed as we have just been slowly recovering from the coronavirus effects on our museum,” a museum staff told Japanese state broadcaster NHK.

Located in the city of Iga, the museum is famous for featuring a traditional ninja house and offering an interactive experience to visitors like throwing _shuriken_—a ninja’s iconic star-shaped weapon.

According to Kyodo news agency, Iga is home to two of the most renowned ninja clans. The ninjas were black-clad warriors of feudal Japan who are known for their stealthy moves and surprise attacks on enemy forces.