After arriving I made my
way over to my ryokan and rested in my room under the kotatsu (heated sitting
table). I was told that it was already too late to go to Jigokudani that day
but the manager of the ryokan would give me a ride over to the Jigokudani
trailhead first thing in the morning.
After getting a lift to the trailhead I began the short (~1 mile)
hike up to where the snow monkeys live. Arriving at the gates I paid
the entry fee of 500 en and entered. I walked past the small
information center/shop/heated lounge room and descended towards the main hot
springs pool that was filled with snow monkeys young and old. On the
hillside surrounding the hot springs monkeys dotted the area and perched among
the branches of small trees.
Being accustomed to perhaps hundreds of visitors a day the snow monkeys were not shy or afraid and went about their activities of bathing, playing, and foraging through the snow and under rocks for food. They seemed to show no interest or curiosity for the pesky humans with their cameras and bright colored winter jackets.
After watching the
playful snow monkeys and exploring the surrounding area I turned back and
walked back down the snowy trail back to the road to catch a bus back to
Yamanouchi. I collected my luggage from the ryokan and walked
through the icy streets back to the Yudanaka train station where I got back on
the small train to Nagano.
