Nagano Winter Vacation

This year we decided to stay inside Japan for our winter vacation. We looked in to traveling to some of the neighboring countries, but since everyone else in Japan is traveling it was very expensive. We talked a little about the different options and finally decided to go to Nagano prefecture by car. Since we have the ETC in the car we can travel relatively cheaply and quickly by driving the toll roads around Japan. On our first travel day we were able to get moving by around 9:45am. It took a little over 4 hours to get to our first destination. It was Jigokudani Yaenkoen near Shiga Kogen. This is the park famous for "snow monkeys" These monkeys are the northernmost living primates other than humans in the world. The way they are able to survive is by spending a good part of their day in the Japanese Onsens (hot springs). When we arrived in the town I was able to stumble onto a parking area with a shuttle that took us to the park. We were driven up an extremely winding road and dropped off at a small turn around. From there we walked. Immediately we were greeted by a small pack of monkeys on the walking path. It was a little startling and we were not sure how safe the monkeys were so we were a little uneasy. Not all of the monkeys looked friendly as you can see below.

Eventually we stumbled upon an Onsen that the monkeys were enjoying. In the park there were monkeys everywhere. Kate said they looked like ants climbing up through the mountains. In the Onsen there was a variety of different ages of monkeys. There was one that looked to be very old that really appeared to be enjoying the water. He had one eye open and one shut and his mouth was half open. From the time we arrived to the time we left he was the only one that was not getting in and out of the spring. I have to say he looks very comfortable.

Most entered to warm up, would stroll around and the eventually leave the spring.

There were also many baby monkeys in and around the spring, they are very cute and fun to watch.

You could also witness many of the monkeys grooming each other.

Kate took a short video to give a better feel for what it is like. The video also contains the older monkey that was really enjoying the spring.

These monkeys are wild and so there are a number of rules that need to be followed. There is no feeding the monkeys and you are not to bring food or drink into the park as the monkeys can sense it and may attack you to get it. Also it is considered a threat to stare at them so you are not to stare. When we were leaving we got stuck on the walkway with a couple of monkeys. I told the kids to just keep walking and not to stare. A couple of times the monkeys looked at us like "you following us?", but they left us alone.

This activity turned out to be really fun and was one of the highlights of the trip. Kate said she could have sat for hours just watching the monkeys. I could not have sat for hours because it was freezing cold, I can understand the monkeys motivation to get into the hot water.

When we finished at the monkey park we went straight to our Ryokan. A Ryokan is a traditional Japanese hotel. There are no beds, instead there are futons. Included in the fee is a formal dinner and breakfast as well as the opportunity to use the public as well as private Onsen. Below is the main lobby of the Ryokan.

The view from our room was amazing. There are mountains all around and all of the roofs had snow on them.

The street in front of the the hotel was very quaint.

Upon arrival we were taken to our room and given Yukata (Kimono that can be worn throughout the hotel.) We put them on both children and then put ours on, then headed for dinner.

Dinner was multiple courses and the presentation is amazing. I am really glad that we could experience this type of hotel and meal at least once.

This area appeared to be famous for apples so one of our dishes included a hollowed out apple filled with shrimp and a number of other things.

During our meal we were informed that we were not wearing our Yukata correctly. Kate and I had on a part of the children's and none of ours, we were given the ones that we should have worn. It was funny because I thought mine was a little revealing so I left my clothing on under it. That all made sense when we found out we were wearing them incorrectly. After that we put all the parts on and then found out the order was wrong, so we tried one more time and finally got it correctly. I think the one below was after it was correct, but the children's may be in the incorrect order...I am not sure.

While we were at dinner the hotel staff rearranged the room and laid out the futons for us to sleep on. I would have slept fine except for the fact the the pillows were rock hard and too tall for me, as a result I woke up with a really stiff neck.

That night both Kate, the children, and I used the public Onsen. It was my first time so a bit awkward, but Liam really wanted to do it so I figured I should be the adult and go with him. In the end it was pretty straight forward and actually very enjoyable.

The next morning we had breakfast first and then had the opportunity to use the hotels private Onsen. The private Onsen is reserved in 40 min blocks. There is a locker room when you enter an Onsen usually with baskets for you to put your clothing and belongings in. Next you pass through a door and there are showers for you to wash off before entering the Onsen. Once clean then you can enjoy the hot water of the Onsen. Typically the Onsen is enjoyed without a swimming suit. Below is the private Onsen, the showers and Onsen are both visible. Since this one was reserved we were the only people inside so I could take a couple of pictures. I am only including a picture without us in it for privacy sake.

After enjoying the private Onsen we loaded into the car and headed toward our next Ryokan. On the way we passed Zenko-Ji, a famous temple in Nagano. The temple was originally built in the 7th century.

There are a number of different buildings and structures throughout the complex and it is enjoyable to stroll around and take it all in. The picture below is the main temple on the grounds.

I liked this picture, it is of an incense burner. The smoke from the burner is wafted on the temple patrons for good health and fortune. The smoke in the picture above is from this same burner.

At the end of the temple complex we stumbled onto a tiny Yaki Imo truck. Everyone was hungry so we bought two and split them. We also discovered that pigeons are also big fans of Yaki Imo and it didn't take long for us to be overrun by them. We enjoyed feeding them some of our scraps. It was funny watching as they would pick up a big piece and try swallowing it as they ran from the others that were trying to peck it out of their beaks.

Next back in the car and off back on our way to the next Ryokan. From Utsunomiya (our home) to our first Ryokan we were amazed by the scenery change, but when we headed farther west into the mountains it was amazing to see the abrupt change as it became even more mountainous. The video below shows a little what it was like for us. We went through a tunnel and when we came out on the other side everything was covered in snow and the mountains were steeper.

The next Ryokan was much smaller than the first, but also very nice. The pillows equally hard my neck did not get any better. This Ryokan also had a private Onsen that the family could enjoy as well as 2 public. Dinner was amazing, I didn't bring the camera because I figured you can only take so many pictures of food (sorry Generosa). I wish I would have taken it as this was the first time I have ever eaten raw deer meat. I have long since gotten over the shock of eating raw things, but I did hesitate for an instant before digging in. Actually it was very tasty and melted in my mouth.

We arrived fairly late and so we did not have much opportunity to see our surroundings until the next day. As we drove in I thought I saw a ski jump behind our Ryokan. The next morning before heading off to ski I drove about 0.5 miles to the base of the 1998 Olympic ski jump venue. I have to say that it would be pretty scary to actually go off of this thing.

All of the mountains around were covered with snow and at any moment it was possible to see at least 3 ski resorts. This area reminded me of what it feels like to be truly cold. Of course it gets cold at our home, but nothing like this.

About ten minutes from our Ryokan was a ski resort that we could get a discount on from our Ryokan. We had talked about taking the children skiing for the first time and finally decided this would should just do it. Since we got a discount we figured this was our best choice. The name of the resort was Hakuba 47. After getting the lift tickets and skis on everyone and a short trial run around the flat area at the base we headed for the ski lift. We successfully loaded everyone onto the lift, but once at the top our luck changed a little, both Liam and Colleen bailed at the top and ended up taking 1 of the next 2 loads of people down as well. Once we got that under our belt from then on we could ride the lift with no trouble.

Both Liam and Colleen did great for their first time on skis. Both had some struggles in the beginning, but after a couple of times down they had marked improvements.

Liam even felt comfortable enough that he went down at least one time on his own.

Just so there is proof that I was there I figured I should include at least one picture with me in it and on skis so here you go.

Kate and Colleen enjoyed playing in the snow.

I took this video of Liam going down the slope on his third time down. I think it would only take a few more times for him to really feel comfortable. Since going he has asked to get skis a number of times. I had to explain that there is no reason to buy skis if we don't have an opportunity to use them.

After a long day of skiing we hit up the Subway inside the ski lodge. With full bellies we headed on to Matsusmoto, our last stop. I have shown pictures of manholes from other cities in previous posts. The ones in Matsumoto are very colorful. I told Kate I should put all the different pictures into a book and name it "The Japanese Manhole." Sounds like a hit to me...Kate said she is not convinced it is a good idea.

Matsumoto is famous for the second oldest castle in Japan. It is one of the few original castles remaining. This castle was made in 1590 and is currently privately owned.

The castle is beautiful. I still have a lot of difficulty with Japanese, especially signs, but I was able to read that the castle was closed for the new year and so we were not able to go in and see the inside.

We were able to walk around the grounds on the outside. You can almost feel the history as you walk around. There was a wisteria vine on the grounds that was as thick as a tree. I have never seen anything like it. The moat on the outside of the castle was stocked with huge coy and there were swans swimming about. We took about an hour and walked around the grounds taking it in.

To ring in the new year we decided to go to one of the temples in Matsumoto. In Japan many people head to the temple to make the first prayer of the new year. As a result many shops are open late to serve food to people walking by. I had Tako Yaki and a crepe, Kate decided she wanted soup. While she drank the soup we sat buy a small fire the shop owner had going outside to keep warm.

When we first arrived at the temple there were only a couple of people there but about 30 min. before the new year hundreds showed up. After the countdown to the new year the crowd pressed forward and the bells at the temple started ringing as the prayers started.

The next morning I took this picture from our hotel window. This time we stayed in a typical hotel, but the pillows still stunk.

As we were getting up and moving we stumbled onto the Magic Bullet advertisement in Japanese. I caught a little on tape to play for your enjoyment. The actors are the same as in the US, but the voices are dubbed over. It was fun to watch a commercial for a product that we had previously seen in the US, but for the Japanese market.

In keeping with the Monkey theme of this post I found a little monkey to sit on for a photo op.

Then Kate photo bombed this picture of a super cub as I was taking it.

When we went to the castle the day before there was a lot of activity going on. We could see cameras being set up so I asked one of the people what was going on. I could understand about 80% of the conversation and I could understand that some show was going on at 9:00 am the next day. We got up early and walked to the castle (about 15 min on foot) and sure enough there was something going on. Turns out there was a show being put on for a Japanese TV show. We got there early and so ended up at the front of the crowd. Actually we looked around and I think we were the only foreigners in the crowd. As we stood in the crowd we could hear and see the show going on in another studio. The guy next to us explained that there would a portion of the show he was watching that was going to be filmed from the castle.

When it was time the girls were cued and the show started. We were standing at the front of the crowd so it is likely that we briefly made it onto a nationally televised Japanese TV show. Below is the show taped from my vantage point. Not quite the game show I was hoping to get on but it will probably have to do.

The finished product including the castle in the background.

When the show finished we were all freezing so we hurried back to the hotel to warm up and then check out and head for home. There was a big snow storm on the way home. In Japan when the road conditions become severe from snow there are checkpoints you have to pass before getting onto the roadway. At the checkpoint the cars are inspected to make sure that they either have snow chains or stud less snow tires. If you don't have them you are forced to pull over and apply chains or you can not enter the roadway. Fortunately our car came with a set of stud less tires so we could drive on through. I like this idea because it guarantees that the cars on the road are properly equipped for the road conditions.

Hope everyone had a great holiday and new year...