Yesterday was the last day to apply to be an official Ninja for Aichi Prefecture in Japan. That’s right, while most of us are sitting in an office wondering what the sun and sky look like, six lucky people will be able to live-out their childhood dreams of being a Ninja.

The Ninjas are part of an effort to attract more tourists to the Aichi region, and will be paid 180,000 yen ($1,600) per month to perform on stage and make occasional PR appearances. But these people actually have to have some “ninja skills”, such as being able to do “backward handsprings” and have killer dance moves. Wait, what!? You read that right, dance moves. I guess these Ninjas need to be ready for the impromptu breakdance battle too.

But it’s not all dancing, as these real-life ninjas will also be trained on how to handle their swords and throw shuriken. I’m thinking they are also going to be trained on how to perform some Naruto-style jutsu, but maybe that’s just me, haha.

The application process was open to people outside of Japan too, so we may just see some foreign ninjas in the mix.

Ninjas have always been a part of Japanese history, but have grown in popularity due to foreign interest. Neighboring Mie prefecture already has a Ninja Museum in Iga City, so you will not need to go far to learn some real history about this secretive group.

Japan is really the place where your childhood anime dreams can come true.

–Sal