Yudanaka and the Monkeys

On April 21 my friend and I traveled to Yudanaka in Nagano Prefecture. Thanks to Hyperdia, we were able to map out our connections to the minute.. Most of the travel could be accomplished via the JR rail system, which was covered by our weeklong rail pass. The last leg of the journey from Nagano to Yudanaka was via a private local rail system. Started our journey in the morning and by mid afternoon we had checked into Seifuso, a Japanese inn at the hot spring town. We were concerned about the hike to the monkey park but innkeeper offered to drive us to the trail head. He also loaned us rubber boots, saving our shoes from mud. We had been warned that the trail was arduous but it wasn't that hard. And we got to the monkey baths at feeding time. Which gets to the problem with monkey hot springs. It is set up like a sanctuary and the monkeys are coddled and fed by the park staff. Still, it was fun to see the monkeys frolicking. Afterwards we walked down the mountain in thick fog with two guys from Mexico who befriended us. The bus stops eluded us for a while but pretty soon a bus came along and we ride it into town. The guys were on their way back toTokyo and we went into the first of three baths to relax before dinner. After a typical Japanese inn dinner we took a second bath - an outdoors place that was fabulous. In the morning there was time for the third bath and lovely Japanese breakfast. We took a walk along Yudanaka to see the cherries before going on to Nagano.

Cherry blooms in rain

Baby stays close to mother

Spring growth along the trail to monkey park

Dinner at Seifuso, a traditional Japanese inn

Cherries bloom along a river bank