Category: travel

Howdy everyone. Lots of people love the monkeys it seems. Of course who doesn’t?

Today was all about another reason to come to Nagano… hitting the slopes. While I used to do a little snowboarding back in the day I hadn’t been on a board in about 6 years. But when you are in a locale that has some of the best snow in the world, why wouldn’t you get back on the horse.

There were decisions to be made about where to go. Shiga Kogen seems to be the biggest and baddest in the area, but I had read a bit about Nozawa Onsen. It is more of a ski village proudly boasting a dozen public onsen along with many many runs, lifts, and gondolas. I bumped into a couple of Aussies yesterday who talked it up, so I thought that sounds like the place for me.

When I left the ryokan this morning, it was cold, colder than I had experienced all trip. And snowing, big massive snowflakes. It was pretty sweet (for the moment anyway). So off I went to jump on a train to get me close to Nozawa Onsen, with just a quick connecting bus.

It is worth pointing out the train I caught. I am used to even the older Japanese trains being comfy, but this was old school. Not even heated seats! Anyway it got me to the train station at the other end and with a quick bus shuttle I was in the town.

By this time it was approaching 10am, so no time to dilly dally… best get on the slopes! A quick board and boot hire and a lift ticket and I was done. Must also point out how nice it is to pay about 60 bucks for a lift ticket as opposed to 100+ back home. Nuts.

Now given I hadn’t been on a board in years so I stuck to the green runs. The best way to go seemed to catch the gondola straight to the top of the mountain. And it was a loooong way up. Before me I had about 9km of trail to get back to the bottom. Yep, 9km.

The path changed from open play area, to windy paths through the trees and it was amazing. I must say I got my confidence up pretty quick. I found turning much easier than I remember from back in the day. The snow was still falling and while it was OK, it was being a bit of a pain (and keeping things cold… minus 6 degrees on the mountain).

By the time I got to the bottom of my first run I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. So did I rest? Nope, straight back up. In the end I did that a number of times, doing slight variations on the way down each time.

Unfortunately has the day progressed the snow got worse to the point I had to call it at about 3pm. No harm though, as I did about 5 hours of virtually non-stop boarding.

Given it was an onsen town though, I had to have a dip, so picked a public bathhouse at random. Turned out I had it all to myself. With a true onsen like this the water comes straight from the ground. To me it felt like it came straight from the centre of the earth… oh man it was like lava. I like a hot bath but this was a little much.

So after that dip it was back on the bus then train to Nagano. Snow was relentless and didn’t let up the whole way back. So a soak in the tub here at the ryokan and I was done. The body is still feeling good, so looks like I will strapping the board back on when I reach Hokkaido. Bring it on.

Those of you who know me know that I had a few key thigns for this trip to Japan: celebrating new Year with Masato and his folks… seeing my favourite Japanese band, Boris… going to see Sumo… visiting Ghibli and seeing the Totoro exhibition… and visiting Snow Monkeys. Well, the day had come to check the snow monkeys off the list.

I was pretty excited I must say. First thing I did when I arrived in Nagano was get the info on getting to the park. Seemed easy enough… jump on a bus then a 40 minute walk. So at 10am this morning I did just that.

The bus ride was nothing spectacular. We got out of the city and in to the mountains and I was dropped off at what seemed like some outpost with not much happening. The friendly bus driver pointed in a direction, so off I walked, following the odd sign.

After about 10 minutes of walking on roads I entered a small track that led into the snow covered mountain, and for the next 30 minutes walked along a gorgeous path in the woods, being careful not to slip. Every twist and turn on the path was another snow covered gem. Every now and then I would hear a noise thinking it would be some animal, but it was only ever snow falling from the trees.

It was then I reached the monkey park proper. Paying my 500 yen I wandered in and up another path. My jaw dropped… snow monkey! Right on the path! Just staring at me as if to say “yeah, I’m a snow monkey… what about it?”. Of course I starting crazily snapping photos. I was giddy. Any fear this would turn out to be disappointing disappeared.

Following the short path I came to the famed hot pool and yep, about 20 monkeys in there just chilling out. Others were hanging about. It was just what I wanted.

Truth be told the monkey park is hardly a park… it is a pretty small area with only one hot spring. But there seemed to be a lot of monkeys about. When a park dude spread some food out it seemed as if 200 monkeys were there having a bite to eat.

I could see how someone might be a little disappointed. The park is relatively tiny. Me, I was enthralled. I spent an hour and a half watching them play and eat and soak.

There was a clear hierarchy going on, with the odd scream of one monkey to another followed by one getting out of the pool, or being chased. They seemed oblivious to us watching.

Although there was hardly anyone there. At one point it was just be and one other. At times more would turn up, stay for 10 minutes, and then leave. Not sure why… that is a big trek to stay for 10 minutes!

So I snapped away. The photos I will post in here are my very quick first pass at what I think are some of the better ones. I will wait until I am home to really sort them out.

Oh, of course there was a self portrait.

And some kind folk snapped a pic too.

So after hanging out for a while it was time to wander back down the path to get a bus back. I met 3 other Aussies as I wandered back and we headed to Nagano together. A nice bunch who were skiiing. They confirmed that Nozawa Onsen was indeed a place to visit, so that might be on the cards tomorrow.

Otherwise I was back into Nagano about 3:30pm or so. I did some wandering, got some food (more gyoza… mmm…) and chilled out for the night.

I was very content… I had hung out with the snow monkeys. Oh yeah.

Brrrrrr… boy it’s cold out there. I’m in Kanazawa now, which is up close to the coast of the Sea of Japan. I arrived late morning coming from Kyoto and although Kyoto was cold (8 to 10 degrees) we are now entering new territory. The sign said 2 degrees when I arrived about 11am. Yep.

But the upside? Snow! And lots of it. Not that nice drizzle we got in Kyoto that didn’t last, but a foot of snow everywhere. But it has its upsides and downsides which I will get to.

So the train was uneventful in the best way, but that is what Japanese trains seem to be… nice and reliable (touch wood). What was great about this trip was that only about 15 minutes out of Kyoto the snow arrived, and didn’t let up the whole 2 or so hours to Kanazawa. So cool (it better be… I am settling in for a week and a half of snow).

The trip to Kanazawa was about a few things. One was getting a little more off the beaten track, although Kanazawa is hardly off the track. It is a city (200,000 people or so) and is world renowned for its main gardens which draws lots of tourists. So I am hardly the first. But it takes a little effort so is not on the radar for most. Secondly obviously to go somewhere new. Thirdly, it is a roundabout way to Nagano. And fourth, the gardens I speak of.

First things though was to drop my bag off. I met my lovely host at Guesthouse Namaste. This was a guesthouse in the true sense… nice and small and run by a charming man who could not be more helpful from the first second. Within half an hour my next 6 hours were planned.

So armed with my map and helpful instructions, I headed off to see the sights of Kanazawa. First of all was a swing by the local Fish Market. Kind of like a smaller version of Tokyo Fish Market, I think by the time I was there a lot of the action had disappeared. But it allowed be to get some octopus on a stick to munch on for lunch (I seem to be eating a lot of octopus). Nothing too wacky out there, but a LOT of crabs.

From there is was a meander to the old Geisha district which now operates mainly as a quaint alley for teahouses. Although I did spy the above advert on the way. Maybe the geishas were beer drinkers too?

So I arrived at the Higashi Chayagai district to have a look. Quite a small area, but some quaint lanes with old teahouses, each advertising their wares outside.

Apparently this is the area for gold leaf as well, but none that I could spy. One tea house even serves it up for you to drink I hear.

My advised path then took me toward the famed gardens. But as I approached something pretty impressive got my attention. Castle! How I love Japanese castles. I know I didn’t worry with the Kyoto one the other day (I think I was just building-ed out by that point) but this looked amazing.

The snow added to the dramatic effect. What was great is that it was free to just wander in the grounds and soak it all up.

Given all the snow, I couldn’t help but get into some snow hijinks. I am sure this time in two weeks I will be cursing the cold and wet, but right now I am loving it.

So a wander around the castle grounds bought great images at every turn. Makes me want to visit more castles now (which I read just today one of the big 4 in Japan is just under an hour away from Nagano… hhmmm…).

Next up, the famed Kenrokuen Gardens. I was pretty excited for these as they are considered the primo gardens in all of Japan.

This is where unfortunately things get a little disappointing. I am guessing the depths of winter is probably not the best time to see the Kenrokuen Gardens. It makes complete sense, but as a result while the trees were still fairly green, everything else was quite barren.

The snow made for some amazing parkland, however without the colour everything just blended a bit in to each other.

I have it on good authority that the gardens are quite spectacular in season. Oh well, you win some you lose some, but it was hardly a big loss as I still spent a lot of time just wandering and soaking it all up.

Always time for self portraits too.

From there I wandered past the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. Only a little pop in as I wanted to get to the samurai building district before the sun went down.

This district is where the samurai used to live and the mud brick walls are evidence of that. It is mainly peoples residences now, but like the geisha district, the charm of the old is still there.

Then it was back to the hostel, seeing the odd thing on my travels…

And with that, 5 or 6 hours of wandering came to a close. Grabbing some food I have spent the evening at the Guesthouse typing away. Tomorrow is 4-5 hours of train to Nagano where I will set up camp for 4 days. That will be the base for a few things… snowboarding, maybe a castle, and snow monkeys! Until Nagano…

Last time I came to Japan I wrote a post called “Farewell Kyoto”. I guess at the time I had no idea if I would be back. Well, turns out I came back and am leaving again.

As mentioned in the last post, today was just a spare day, and like I thought I might, I decided to have a lazy day, strolling the parks of Nara. Those that read my blog last time know it was one of my favourite places, so to come back was very cool. This time I didn’t feel compelled to need to see everything hidden in every nook and cranny. Really I just strolled and went to my favourite temple, Todai-Ji, the one with the big buddah.

So in many ways I will keep this blog entry pretty light on too, because if you really want to know about Nara, you can check out my older post… much more detail.

As usual, the deer were out in force. My favourite thing is seeing naive folk buy the deer biscuits and then get mobbed by deer. Ha ha… traps for young players.

And needless to say Todai-Ji is still breathtaking. The amazingly huge all wooden structure takes the breath away…

… as does the big buddah inside. Bigger than the one I visited on my first day in Kamakura.

This time I decided I was enlightened enough and declined the opportunity to crawl through the nostril. Maybe another day.

As I wandered the parks it was interesting to note two things I didn’t know about Nara…

First is the piranha problem.

Second is their prejudice against Pacman. How odd.

So after about 4 or 5 hours of wandering I headed back to Kyoto. Before heading back to the hostel I decided to pay a visit to the bamboo forest I visited last trip too.

It is not huge, but it is gorgeous to be in amongst the swaying bamboo. Clears the mind better than any zen garden I think.

From there it was some okonomyaki for dinner and back to camp. Need to get my bag sorted for in the morning I jump on a train to Kanazawa, home of the most amazing Japanese gardens apparently. So assuming I have wi-fi again will let you know my verdict tomorrow.

Sayonara Kyoto!