Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani
Over the MLK Holiday we made a trip with our friends the Guisingers to see the Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani. Snow was in the forecast so we were afraid to drive and get stuck in the mountains. Instead we opted to take the Skinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano. From there we took local trains and buses. We spent the night in Yudanaka at the Shimaya Inn (an old Japanese ryokan) so we could be at the monkey park first thing in the morning. It was pretty cold and lightly snowing, but the hike in was not bad at all. We brought microspikes but didn't end up needing to use them. Close to the monkey park there was a strong smell of sulfur - like Yellowstone and what appeared to be steam vents along the river banks. The monkeys were fun to watch. I was surprised to find that it was a very "un-zoo" like setting. No fences or barriers to keep the monkeys in a certain area. In fact, if you looked closely you could spot monkeys everywhere - all over the mountain sides and down along the ri...