Took the train to Nagano, site of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. A local train then took us to Yudanuka, where it was snowing (and I didn't have my winter coat with me.) We took a 30 minute hike up to Jigo Kudanai Yaen-Koen, which is famous for its Japanese Snow Monkeys (Macaques.) The monkeys actually soak in the hot spring baths that are in the park! As we entered the park, monkeys were all around us. Some of the babies were riding on the backs of their parents. We walked over to the hot springs area to view the monkeys in the pool. It's quite amazing to see this, and the scenery was just spectacular. We watched the monkeys run around and play. According to my friend Rob, we lost World War II, because Japan was able to retain the snow monkey population.
-After an unsuccessful attempt to use the human hot springs bath and a long wait for the bus, we headed back to our ryokan in Tokyo. We fell asleep on our train back, and woke up when the train was already at our station. We jumped out of the train just in time!
-My friend Mike had arrived from the US on this day, so I rang his hotel. Sure enough, he was there. The 3 of us met up at Nataraj for some curry and some Japanese beer. It is amazing to meet up with a friend when you are on the other side of the planet. Afterwards, we went to an Irish Pub called Duffy's for a few drinks.
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