The Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani, Japan

For Christmas 2009, we traveled to Japan with two targets: snow monkeys and red crowned cranes. I’ll leave the birds for a separate post.

We flew from Chicago to Tokyo on JAL, and got a screaming deal of first class tickets with points. It was Christmas day and the airport was deserted. We were the only people in the lounge, other than a petite Japanese woman dressed as Santa. It was truly a great flying experience, though ruined us for future flights. Pretty sure that they ironed our clothes while we slept.

We landed early in the morning, and took the airport limosine bus to the Shibuya Excel hotel. Narita is FAR from the city centre, so the journey took almost two hours. After checking in we marveled at the insanity of the Shibuya crossing and tried to stay awake to combat the jetlag of the 14 hour time difference. We went to Starbucks, found the train station where we would depart for Nagano the following day, and stumbled across the Imperial Palace.

The next day, we woke up early so we decided to head over to the train station early. Even though it was 5:25 am on a Sunday morning, Shibuya was packed and the train was standing room only. Based on the smoke and booze smell, we were the only ones who weren’t out from the night before.

We got to JR station and got tickets (reserved seating and non smoking) for the 6:24 “super express” to Nagano. We followed some people with skiis, found the track, and the train left on time. The Horuriku Shinkansen travels at around 160 mph/257km per hour, so it takes about and hour and a half to get to Nagano. Along the way we watched the sunrise and spotted a snow covered Mt Fuji.

Once in Nagano, we wandered a bit trying to find the Nagano Dentetsu. Turns out you have to leave the train station, find something that looks like a subway, and go downstairs. We couldn’t figure out how to use the ticket kiosks, so I found an official looking man to help me. I pointed at a photo of a snow monkey, and then at my paper that said “Yudanaka”. He nodded and helped me purchase tickets. The “local express” arrived at 8:56 so we boarded and hoped for the best. The trains were getting smaller and less modern. I was trying to follow along with the stops, but it seemed to stop more than expected and then terminated at Suzaka. Another train arrived shortly and took us the rest of the way to Yudanaka.

We arrived in Yudanaka at 9:48, under four hours from when we left Tokyo. There were a few buses there, but decided to try for the one taxi. I showed him the name of the ryokan, and he responded with “Monkey Park?” so we figured we were good to go. About 10 minutes later, he pulled over at a trail head and got out to use his body weight to keep the car from sliding. We quickly grabbed our bags and noted the time (10am) because the hike to the ryokan was supposed to take 15 minutes. The trail was beautiful but pretty icy, and about five minutes in we reached a fork in the trail. All of the signage was in Japanese, so we paused for a minute to figure out what to do. After a few minutes, a couple passed us in the other direction. They didn’t speak English but luckily “monkey” is easy to mime, and they pointed us in the direction from which they came. 15 minutes later we arrived at the Ryokan Kokakukan and spotted out first monkey.

We booked the Ryokan Kokakukan due to its proximity to the monkey park. Most people just come here for an hour, but we were staying for a few days and wanted the flexibility to visit as much as we want without trekking back and forth from the village. We didn’t know that staying in a ryokan was an experience rather than just a place to stay. It would have helped to know ahead of time so we didn’t embarrass ourselves at every step along the way 🙂

Our room was very traditional, with a separate sleeping area that included two futons. My spoiled American back was not loving it, so after the first night we stacked them on top of one another for warmth and comfort. They must have thought that we were nuts.

The food was surprisingly good, with plenty of noodles in broth and other tasty treats. Sitting at the low tables was novel at first, but became painful after a few minutes. We also weren’t aware that we were supposed to wear the kimonos from our room to meals… but figured it out after the first meal when everyone was wearing matching kimonos except us. I was going to give it a go at dinner, but decided that I’d freeze, and Andy’s fit more like a top.

The bathroom situation was also totally confusing. There was a sliding door that opened to a communal room with two urinals, 1 sink, and then two stalls with squat toilets. Oh – and you had to change from house slippers to toilet slippers before entering. I assumed the etiquette was to not enter if you saw house slippers outside, but that turned out not to be true because every time I was in there someone came in. Bathing was even more confusing because it was communal, in sulphur-smelling hotsprings water, and there buckets and tiny stools and one sponge on a rope. It was freezing anyway, so what’s a few days without daily bathing right?

We were here for the monkeys though, so the quirky ryokan was fine. The monkey park opened each day at 9, but there were plenty of monkeys roaming outside the park as well. We’d stay until 11 and then go back to the ryokan for lunch and to warm up, and then spend a few hours back at the park in the afternoon. If you are a keen photographer, this is a must-see place. The monkeys, though wild, are at ease with people around and it’s pretty much a sure thing. Definitely worth sharing a communal bath with smelly water and sponge on a rope 🙂