JAPAN Adventures: Snow Monkeys, Onsens, Ryokan & Kaiseki Eats
I’ve got plenty of tales from my first 3 days of skipping around Tokyo of course, but I simply couldn’t WAIT to share my wondrous visit north to see those legendary Snow Monkeys huddled around the steaming onsen at Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park. Indeed, not only the monkeys, but my wonderful stay at a traditional Japanese ryokan, along with an amazing Japanese kaiseki dinner.
But Let’s Step Back For a Moment, To…
That long ago (6+ years?) moment when the very IDEA of “Snow Monkeys” (Japanese macaques) first blipped across my radar. As often happens, it was a chance encounter (first via social media, but later in person) with a fellow EFL teach from Canada who had been teaching in Bhutan for several years, that first introduced me to the existence of these amazing creatures. I initially sought him out for info on how to go about snagging an EFL teaching position in Bhutan (I mean why not, yes?)
He was also an avid photographer (and was writing a book about Bhutan), had been to Japan, and… long story short? The moment I gazed at his pics of the Snow Monkeys, I was hooked! In a nanosecond, I vowed to one day visit Japan and see them for myself.
Later, the lad visited me in Dalat, Vietnam, but meanwhile the notion of teaching English in Bhutan had lost its glitter (long story, mainly I was by then planning my move here to Ecuador). Nonetheless, my passion to see those monkeys hadn’t abated, and I even made plans to stop in Japan (foremost for the Sapporo Snow Festival, but also to see those Snow Monkeys) en route to my new home in South America.
Ah but that plan too fell by the wayside (lol, I am nothing, if not ever fickle when it comes to my travel plans). But all these years since – I’d regretted missing the opportunity to see those crimson-faced monkeys.
In short? Clearly “Good things come to those who wait.” and heading north to Nagano and the Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park was among the top priorities on this, my (finally!) visit to Japan.
And oh my – the excursion turned out to be among the BEST in all my travels (on a par with hunting truffles with dogs amid the forests of Croatia, and seeking out the legendary miniature elephants in the wilds of Borneo).
Btw, according to Wikipedia, “The name Jigokudani, means “Hell’s Valley”, due to the steam and boiling water that bubbles out of small crevices in the frozen ground…”
The first thrill came as I hopped on my first-ever Japanese “bullet” train, and whizzed from Tokyo north to Nagano (2,188 km in less than 1.5 hours!) I then switched to a local train to go the last 45 minutes to Yudanaka-onsen (“onsen” means “hot spring” in Japanese), a small village near the Jigokudani Snow Monkey park.
My trusty "rollie" gets its first spin on a Japanese "bullet" train.
Sleek and swift…
And just as comfy as you'd expect.
Tasty "bento" lunch boxes were easy to buy at most any train station for < $5
Or… you could choose a "Purple Puffer Jerky" snack on-board!
Or how 'bout a dish of "Crab Innards"?
A special train just for the Snow Monkey visitors.
I was delighted to see that the cherry trees were still abloom up in the mountains – yay!
Happily, my reserved ryokan sleeps turned out to be but a short stroll from the train station, down a narrow cobbled street that even more happily – turned out to be lined with blooming cherry blossoms! It seems that – though Japan’s “sakura” (the annual blossoming of cherry trees) came early to Japan this year (and thus I arrived too late to catch the blooms in Tokyo), up there in the mountains, many of the cherry trees were still in full, stunning flower.
The Perfect Ryokan for This Budget Traveler
Seriously. I can’t believe my luck in the sleeps department. You see, initially in my Japan research I feared I couldn’t afford to stay at a traditional Japanese ryokan – even for a single night. Most all the authentic ryokans on the popular hotel sites were listed at $150 per night or more. And likewise a traditional “Kaiseki-ryori” dinner (a multi-course haute cuisine Japanese meal)? Add in another near c-note.
Now I’m quite open to a splurge or two in my budget travels – e.g. ballooning over the fairy tale landscape of Cappadocia, Turkey, a pricey $320 (for a DAY TRIP) just so I could see for myself if snorkeling Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was everything it was cracked up to be (alas, it kinda wasn’t), not to mention… my $200 lunch in Lima, Peru (worth.ever.penny.)
But that plane ticket just to GET to Japan from Ecuador, along with those swift bullet trains to get around Japan don’t come cheap. Thus, I just couldn’t rationalize near 300 bucks for a single night’s sleep and dinner.
And then I got lucky. Taking another earnest browse through agoda.com, I unearthed what looked like a fine and utterly authentic ryokan in Yudanaka (the Yudanaka Seifuso) – rated 9.3 with an in-house onsen for just $45 per night. Furthermore, they offered a most economical kaiseki dinner for less than half what other such dinners were running ($35).
In short? My ryokan stay and eats (I opted for both the Kaiseki dinner, as well as a traditional Japanese breakfast) simply couldn’t have been better. My own private suite with attached “tea” porch, including soft slippers and a lovely “yukata” (for heading to the steamy in-house onsen) along with an amazing array of traditional Japanese delectables – for less than $100.
My *huge* room with separate, private entry and bath
And a cozy alcove for tea…
Hand-painted silk screen sliding doors
And all tatami mats underfoot, of course
Delicately embroidered pillows
The requisite "multi-function" toilet (with bidet, warm seat, younameit!
I had the steamy onsen all to myself!
A sincere "arigato" (thank you) for my luck in finding such a lovely (and economical!) ryokan.
And Then There Were the MONKEYS!
Upon my arrival at the hotel (close to noon), I barely had time to drop off my rollie before the ryokan owner’s son kindly offered to drive me to the Monkey Park entrance (note: alternately, local buses run from the train station fairly regularly for around 310Y, a taxi will take around 10 minutes and will run you at least 2000Y). The good news (and arguably bad news) was that it had SNOWED the night before, so it was decidedly COLD there in the mountains, and I didn’t exactly have the warmest jacket (and most certainly no snow boots). But the snow was actually GREAT news because…
The truth is, April isn’t exactly the best time to be gawking at “Snow” Monkeys in the wild, yes? Indeed, I’d been anxiously watching the snow slowly disappear on the Jigokudani live web cam in the weeks before my trip, and… as the snow melted, the monkeys in the live cam seemed to be coming to the onsen less and less. Alas, so drab did the scene become as my departure date drew nearer – I very nearly cancelled my plans to head to the Snow Monkey Park at all!
Ah but (as mentioned earlier), those monkeys had long been a major travel bucket-list dream, so… I instead just lowered my expectations and hoped for the best.
[Note: no doubt a most wise adage for most any anticipated travel.]
So needless to say – despite worrying that I’d freeze to death en route to the park – I was THRILLED at the cold and especially the SNOW that dusted the trees and made the 1.6 km. walk from the park entrance through the woods purely magical.
And even better – it turns out that they *RENT WARM JACKETS AND BOOTS* at the main entrance to the park. Suffice, the best $12 I ever spent ($8 for the jacket, and but $4 for the boots) Woo-HOO!
And the monkeys? More than plentiful! And so frisky and friendly, they scampered about – so close I could fairly reach out and TOUCH them! Seriously. I couldn’t have DREAMED of a more perfect day – crisp and sunshiny, with even a light flurry of snowflakes falling!
1.6 km? Easy-peasy, even with an iffy post-surgery knee. lol, I would have CRAWLED to see those monkeys! 😉
With the dusting of snow, the walk through the woods was purely magical…
Their faces really are that crimson – no photo tweaking.
The monkeys scampered so close – my little 100m zoom proved more than adequate for close-ups.
But There Was More Goodness Yet To Come…
Heading back to my cozy Japanese ryokan, I slipped into my beautiful blue and white Japanese “yukata” and enjoyed a soak in the toasty onsen (I had it all to myself!). And after? A most extraordinary traditional Japanese “kaiseki” dinner. A feast for both the eyes and the palate – a multitude of traditional Japanese dishes:
A sumptuous array of traditional Japanese dishes.
And after a most comfy sleep on my feather futon set on a floor of tatami mats, I woke to enjoy yet another dip in the steamy hot onsen, and a traditional Japanese breakfast:
Seriously. Truly among the BEST 24 hours in ALL my travels!
| If You Too, Are Determined To See Those Amazing Snow Monkeys… |
| The excursion can be done in a single day from Tokyo (using a swift bullet train of course). An early bullet from Tokyo, followed by the train to Yudanaka will get you there by noon-ish. The 1.6 km hike – an easy stroll, about 30 minutes; an hour or so to snap a gazillion pics of the monkeys, and return hike, trains will get you back to Tokyo in time for dinner.
That said, I DO NOT recommend it. While there are other places throughout Japan to stay in a ryokan and have a traditional kaiseki dinner… The combo of woodsy hike (especially if there’s snow), the monkeys, and then a soothing hot onsen soak and the tranquility of a an overnight in a cozy ryokan… is truly a travel experience like no other. |
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About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
I totally get your reaction to first learning about the snow monkeys years ago and thinking, ‘one of these days…!” I think serendipity and the travel gods were on your side for this part of your Japanese adventure as you lucked out with the snow monkeys, cherry blossom trees in full bloom, a traditional dinner and Japanese ryokan, not to mention the warm duds. What a terrific travel memory!
Perfect timing on this post — we are in the initial stages of planning our first trip to Japan (also, long delayed) next year. The snow monkeys are high on our priority list, and are key to the timing of the trip!
Yes Burt – needless to say I highly recommend of visit to see those monkeys. And especially doing an overnight vs. a day trip. (btw, I just now added a link to the live webcam at Jigokudani as it proved helpful – if a bit initially discouraging in my own Japan research).
Indeed, more so than any other country I’ve explored, advanced Japan research is not only beneficial (e.g. to plan your route and save bundles of yen) but arguably essential.
Do stay tuned for my future TL Japan posts on Kyoto, Miyajima, etc. and especially on noodling out whether purchasing a JRail Pass is worth it or not (i.e. in short, it probably is if you plan to do any long distance travel from Tokyo to Nagano and/or Kyoto, etc. – but otherwise no).
Time of year is also somewhat critical depending on what you want to do. Suffice those cherry blossoms of the spring sakura are amazing, but… quite slippery to precisely nail down the ideal travel dates in advance (which, though I don’t normally – I highly recommend grabbing both air and lodging well in advance). Alas, no way to anticipate just what Mother Nature might do with the blooms and/or the snow at Jigokudani next year.
My advice? Set you dates for your best guess, but… just be grateful for whatever you get. I mean, after all – we are supremely privelged to be able to whiz about the globe so freely at all, no?