During out stay in Tokyo, we actually took a a two-day side trip up into the Japanese alps near Nagano called Yudunaka.  Yudunaka is a beautiful town but what made it famous is the large concentration of Japanese Macaques that gather near the snowy hot springs to take baths or onsen.  If you have ever seen the movie Baraka, the opening scene with the monkey is what made me really excited to go here.

We stayed in a family run ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn), called Seifuso, and the son, Matsuo,  came and picked us up from the train station.  At this point we really had to do some laundry, and they showed us where we could find a nearby coin operated laundry (“coin laundry” in Japanese, go figure).  While we were waiting for our clothes to dry, we went and got some ramen and the old man who was the chef offered to drive us back to get our laundry.  We politely declined because we still had to wait a while for it to finish but we were so impressed by how sweet he was!

The next morning we got breakfast at Lawson’s, a local convenient store (this had become our routine as a way of saving money while still getting delicious food), then went to hike up the partially snowy trail to visit the snow monkeys.  They were so much fun to watch! I hope you enjoy the pictures in the gallery.

Finally, we went back to the ryokan where they had prepared a 9 course feast for us!  This ryokan was really amazing.  The whole family was very sweet and the on-site onsen included a huge private outdoor hot spring with traditional Japanese decor.  Very relaxing.