I decided to visit the Honshu Alps and Nagano.
The receptionist, at the hostel seemed to have a Mt Fuji fetish. Even though I had actually made a special trip to the town nearest the mountain, she suggested that I see it from that Shinkasen as it was “very clear today”.
This involved taking a rather convoluted route to Nagano via Nagoya. Given the speed of the train it wasn’t as silly as it sounds.
I did however book a place to stay in a little town called Suzaka which is outside of Nagano. It is serviced by a non JR Rail company. There was a bit of mucking around transferring trains.
Traditional Guest House
I booked into traditional guest house. I was quiet late when I arrived and the owner, a very friendly woman was curtained as to where I was.
There were only two other quests – a couple of Japanese blokes who were visiting the town on business. They insisted that I have some of their sake. They appeared to have knocked back few before I had arrived. I can only assume that their business have been successfully completed that day.
The house had paper wall and bamboo matting. The bed was one of those roll up numbers. It was surprisingly comfortable. Certainly much more comfortable than my sleeping roll that I use when camping.
I can attest to the fact that the paper walls provide no ‘audio’ privacy. I am not sure where that other blokes were sleeping, but I could certainly hear their sake induced snoring.
The Snow Monkeys
My guide books describes Yudanaka as “one of Japan’s most infamous tourist traps, known best for its over-photographed snow monkeys. That was my destination the next day.
I actually thought that it wasn’t too bad.
The watch into the Snow Monkey Park was pretty good. Check out the fliickr link. There are lots of photos of the monkeys and a couple of videos.
Flickr Link
billrider2013 