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.

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.

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!

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:

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!

Did you enjoy this post?
Then you might want to subscribe to my email list so you’re sure to catch my next one.
(trust that I’ll not clog your precious inbox – I generally only post but once a week.)