Hokuriku: Day 3

I hate getting up early, and it's even worse when it's on vacation.  But today it was worth it.  Jigokudani Park (Hell's Valley) is so named because of its steep cliffs and natural hot springs, but the reason people go there is to see something much cuter:  bathing monkeys!

I woke up at 5 in order to catch the earliest train that would take me to Nagano. I was too tired to stay awake for the whole journey, but caught some of the breathtaking scenery from the window of the train.

From Nagano Station there's a 40-minute bus ride up into the mountains, and from the bus stop another 40-minute walk.  The Monkey Park is only accessible on foot, but at least the walk up the mountain is a pretty one:

Once inside the park, I'd imagined I would have to keep careful watch if I wanted to see any monkeys, but it turns out they were everywhere.  Take, for example, this photo.  Looks like just a regular old mountainside, right?  Nope!  Look carefully along the bottom.  All those tiny little brown spots are monkeys!

Can you see them here?

A little further up a path and you reach the main attraction: the natural hot springs where the snow monkeys (Japanese macaque) keep themselves warm in freezing temperatures.

I had expected they wouldn't allow visitors to get too close, or that I'd have to be careful not to let tiny little monkey fingers snatch away any of my belongings but, to my surprise, neither of those things were true.  You could get right in their faces with a camera and they would just go right on bathing/swimming/digging/grooming/pooping like you weren't even there...I think we weren't interesting enough for them.  There were also a lot of signs as you entered the park area warning you not to eat or offer any food to monkeys while inside, so fortunately they haven't learned to expect anything from you.

I stayed till I was too cold (and had snot running down my face...) then headed for the bus back to the city. After picking up a cup of coffee I made my way to the bullet train platform.  And without even planning it, I had chosen the very best time of day to go back: I got to watch the sunset from my nice comfy seat on the shinkansen.  And as I neared Tokyo, I even caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji, silhouetted by the last rays of sunlight.

What a nice way to end a long weekend.  Back to work tomorrow...