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 river. Some would wonder over to the hot springs for a soak but they were ranging all over the place! I was slightly freaked out when one would walk right by me. Of course they are habituated to humans, but still they are wild animals with teeth!



























































To thaw out from the expedition we hopped off the train at a little town on the way back to Nagano called Obuse and got some of the best ramen I've ever had!



Waiting for the train to come to Obuse - we realized we are city folk - used to the fast life of trains coming every 2 to 3 minutes. Not so in Obuse - its definitely the country!




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