Friday 6th January
Caution: there be trains ahead.
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| Jigokudani Snow Monkeys |
When travelling Japan on the cheap, be prepared to spend a
lot of time at train stations. For those interested our journey began at
Kawaguchiko station where we caught a train bound for Otsuki, from there a
train to Kofu, then Matsumoto followed by a final stretch to Nagano.
It may come as no
surprise that by the time we finally made it to our hotel; we were graced with
a view of the sun setting over the buildings from our window. Having gone from
a city of 26,000 to 400,000 people we took the liberty of strolling through the
city streets and stores. Here our dilemma wasn’t so much what was open, as
which one of the many inns and restaurants did we feel like eating at. We
settled on an Izakaya, indulging in a
beer after the cross country trek.
Saturday 7th January
Caution: here be monkeys.
The second of Henry’s requests for the trip was to see the
famous snow monkeys. One bus ride with a group of incredibly hungover
Australians and we were winding our way through the trees over an ice covered
path to Jigokudani (yet another “Hell Valley”).
The attraction was established
after a ranger (?) noticed a number of monkeys bathing in the naturally occurring
small hot springs to keep warm. A larger pool was constructed and now rangers
scatter food pellets around the area to encourage the otherwise wild monkeys.
Though able to roam free, the monkeys are accustomed to the
presence of humans and will therefore pass very close by and even wind through
the legs of the many visitors.
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| Yudanaka Onsen |
As I had heard mixed reviews of the park I was a little apprehensive
at first but it turned out to be an amazing experience. Seeing the wee baby
monkeys perched in the spring or cuddled up to their parent just makes your
heart melt.
Rather than wait for the next bus (which were surprisingly
infrequent) we opted to walk down the hill, stopping at a local soba restaurant
for lunch. We continued on to Yudanaka Onsen village which due to the geothermal
activity in the area was home to a number of onsen (ones for humans rather than monkeys).
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| New Year's Daruma dolls |
Sunday 6th January
The day of rest.
For the first time since we left Akita, we didn’t set an
alarm. As it turns out Henry and I have the same “Holiday Mode” which involves
a lot of early starts and a lot of walking, which while incredibly constructive
and time efficient, can be rather exhausting. Hence a day which actually felt
like a holiday.
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| Jizo - Zenkou-ji |
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| Zenkou-ji - Nagano |
We ventured out with virtually no plan aside from seeing the
Temple. We passed a local community centre where a group of guys were outside
pounding mochi. Seeing our
inquisitiveness they beckoned us over and armed Henry with the massive wooden
mallet. After a couple of whacks one of the group gave instructions which I had
to translate for Henry “You need to make a noise”. A gracious Henry seemed
unfased by this vague instruction and proceeded to shout “HAI” with each swing
of the mallet, which the jiichans
seemed content with. Next it was my turn – that mallet was a lot heavier than
it looked. We were given mochi coated
in various toppings (sesame, bean curd, daikon
and anko from memory) and invited
inside to eat in front of the heater.
After our unexpected breakfast we grabbed a combini coffee and sat in at the end of
a square that hosted a temple and watched people throwing out what I assume
were new year’s decorations.
In spite of the grandeur and novelty that they bear on your
arrival, at some point your excitement dwindles and you’ll find yourself saying
“a temple is a temple, is a temple” (the same being applicable to shrines).
Zenkou-ji Temple in Nagano however, was a breath of fresh air.
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| The Peace Bell that marked the opening of the '98 Winter Olympics |
The grounds were
scattered with statues; the Jizo that
guard each of the six realms through which humans must transcend on their path
to enlightenment, Kannon the goddess of mercy who protects the souls of still
born and aborted children (who also played a role in the story of Tatsuko of
Lake Tazawa), the bell which sounded the beginning of the 1998 Winter Olympic
games (and was also rated as one of the most beautiful sounds in Japan) and a
pagoda where the ashes of millions that had died in war rested.
Locals lit incense,
placing the burning bundles into a furnace and waving the smoke over themselves,
and prayed at the feet of the various statues. We bought amazake (sweet
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| The Goddess Kannon - Zenkou-ji |
non-alcoholic sake)
from a stall, so it really was quite a cultural immersion for Henry.
Wandering back through the town we stopped for a lunch of
Donburi before Henry trotted off to yet another camera shop (there were a few…)
opposite which we stumbled upon the monument in commemoration of the 1998
Winter Olympics.
I feel like we got rained on during our hunt for dinner… We
had our hearts set on a little restaurant run by a jiichan who sat there playing the shamisen that we had walked past previously. Sadly we got to the end
of the road before realising that the restaurant had been one of the boarded up
stores that we had bowled straight past. Fortune smiled on us and we found a
delicious Vietnamese restaurant and (as tradition demanded) indulged in a beer
to celebrate our last night in Nagano.
Next stop: Gifu
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| Nagano Winter Olympics 1998 |
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