Snow Monkeys, the Japanese "Alps" and Onsen

A Long Winter's Nap

Jigokudani Park

Eating Soy Beans

Win and a Nihon Zaru

Serow

"Traditional Japanese Inn for Human Being; Monkey Park for Monkey"

Ryokan Korokukan and Vapor from Hot Spring

21-23 January 2011

     Early Saturday morning we set out on our journey to Japan's famous "Monkey Park" called Jigokudani which is located in the Japanese "Alps" near Nagano.  The trip involved taking the Shinkansen to Nagoya, the JR express train to Nagano (about 3 hours),  the "Snow Monkey" train on the Dentetsu Line to Yudanaka (45min), and then a half hour bus ride to Kambayashi.  From there a 40 minute walk up to the Ryokan we were staying at, as the road to the Ryokan and park entrance is closed in winter.  Luckily we were forewarned to only bring backpacks.  We arrived at the Ryokan Korokukan at about 3pm - it is actually just minutes from the Monkey Park entrance.  It is a small, somewhat rundown and rustic place, sitting right next to some hot springs so has a vaguely sulfurous smell.  Monkeys frequent the place, including the outdoor bath.  We decided we would use the "family bath" before bed in order to warm up, but forego the outdoor one...We found our room spacious, very traditional (low table, cushions, futons on the floor for sleeping) and tidy.  Dinner was excellent - grilled fish with a little roasted cricket for a garnish (!), sushimi, a hot pot with excellent vegetable and duck, various traditional pickles and other small dishes.  The hot bath just about made us ready for serving, but it did feel good when you  got used to it, especially given no central heating (as is true of many places). 

    A little about Japanese monkeys:  throughout Japan there are about 4 or 5 troops of Macaque monkeys.  The snow monkeys are a group of about 150 who live the furthest north of any primates in the wild.  They are old world monkeys with red faces, expressive eyes, short tails, very social among themselves, very tolerant of but disinterested in people.  Babies and juveniles are playful and silly, adults are sometimes affectionate and often pick fleas off each other, and are sometimes territorial and threatening.  The Japanese are very fond of these Nihon zaru (Japanese monkeys) and have created special parks for them where they are fed twice a day.  The hot spring shown above with all the tourists was made especially for these monkeys, who discovered about 50 years ago that they could warm up in the water during the cold winters, and passed this behavior on to new generations. 

     So on Sunday we went up to the Park right after breakfast and spent a good long time watching the monkeys.  All the above photos are taken by me except the Serow.  It was great fun - I had a momentary fantasy that I would be Jane Goodall of the macaques in my next life.  The older monkeys have very ruddy faces, large eyes, sometimes a rather pensive and grave expression.  Younger ones seem to smile and be mischievous.  They make snowballs just for fun.

     At lunch time we hiked down to Kambayashi and found a little soba restaurant which advertised itself as serving soba made with "heartfelt joy and spring water".   Can't go wrong with that.  They also served tiny smoked scallops with pickles on the side.  The menu said you could get "fresh squeezed" milk from cow for dessert, but we had a tasty dried persimmon.   Then back up the hill for an afternoon visit with the monkeys.  Another good dinner and hot bath.

     Monday at breakfast a Serow was seen out the window - it is a sort of smallish wild elk-goat that lives in the mountains of Japan.    A light snow was falling as we left to get the bus, train etc etc back to Kyoto.  A trip definitely worth the effort!


Much love.