Canon Japan Tour (Day 5) Nagano
Hello, travelers. This is Kumi. I guided a Canon Australia's Japan tour for two weeks. Let me show you how we enjoyed the tour. This is about Day 5.
We enjoyed a Japanese-style breakfast which is rice, miso soup, and many side dishes. Do Japanese eat like this every morning? Hmm... not really. I eat rice, miso soup, and a few small side dishes like natto, an egg, pickles, etc. Some people have toast and coffee. Some just have coffee. Some skip breakfast. By the way, my parents usually have rice and miso soup for all three meals every day. Is this surprising to you?
We got on a charter bus at 8:15 and head for the Enza Cafe. Then we started walking in the woods to the Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen-Koen).
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6028.html
*I wrote an article about how to get to Snow Monkey Park from Tokyo by public transportation. The buses are not so frequent, but it's feasible to visit the park without renting a car if you check out the timetable and plan well.
https://pict-japan.blogspot.com/2018/10/snow-monkeys-in-nagano.html
After a-half-an-hour walk, suddenly the woods ended and we arrived at this hot spring area.
Hey, guys! That bridge takes you to human's onsen.
If you want to see the monkeys' onsen, let's go right.
And walk up the stairs.
Oh, wow! A real one is on the sign! He really draws our "attention"!
Even before entering the Snow Monkey Park, you'll see monkeys here and there.
This is the entrance to the Park. Please check out the hours and admission fee.
http://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/guide
We entered the park around 9am.
They are so cute, aren't they?
Photographers might need some extra cards and batteries because you can't really stop taking photos. :P
There are already so many people here at 9:40.
People are wishing to take the photos of monkeys in the onsen, but they won't go in until it really gets cold.
That means you can take some cute fluffy photos.
It looks like the monkeys know that we are waiting for them to take the bath and they intentionally avoid it.
Finally, a monkey got in the bath! Yay!!
Recently, I saw a TV documentary about how this park was built. People in this area used to be bothered by monkeys and were trying to get rid of them. However, a man called Mr. Sougo Hara really wished to live happily with monkeys and started feeding them in 1962. One day, a baby monkey jumped in the onsen and played around and other monkeys started taking a bath too. As it attracted tourists, they opened the park in 1964 and Mr. Hara became the first director of the park. Nowadays, the social network made it even more popular.
Let's move on to the next.
Our next stop is Kagami-ike. The literal translation is Mirro Pond.
https://www.japanhoppers.com/en/chubu/nagano/kanko/875/
As there was no wind, we could capture the beautiful reflection!!
The tour leader was running around and helped us take better shots.
When I looked back, the sky was also beautiful and this cute couple was taking photos.
Lunchtime! We enjoyed Japanese soba (buckwheat noodle) which is a very famous food in Togakushi.
Then we came to this Togakushi Shrine Okusha area.
http://www.go-nagano.net/shisetsu-detail?shisetsuid=1001001
Hey, guys! Did you take good ones?
Some of the members went all the way to the shrine's main building, but I stopped at this gate called Zuijin-mon and walked back.
Hmm... this one is very impressive.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqs_udVF1zE/
Before going back to the inn, we stopped by at another pond called Kotori-ga-ike. "Kotori" means a little bird, so you may see a lot of birds here.
Luckily, there weren't any birds and we got this perfect reflection!
Oh? What are they doing up there? They set the timer for 10 seconds and run back here for a group shot which is almost impossible. LOL
The remote doesn't work because it was a bit too far.
So... it seems they ended up using multiple timers (though I don't know the detail). Anyway, they do have a lot of fun ideas for photography and keep me surprised!
Is this the one taken with the multiple timers? No? Well, it may look similar to this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqnamZnloXR/
Now, back at the hotel at the private bath on the rooftop (we got the permission), we took some night shots with long exposure.
It was quite difficult because some lights came out too bright if I try to capture the stars in the sky at the same time. Perhaps there are some techniques for shooting and editing.
Dinner!!! Many of us enjoyed Japanese sake.
After dinner, we gathered in the lounge with laptops and learned photo editing.
Does this sound too intensive to you?
Well, we enjoyed it very much. This was a paradise for the people who are obsessed with photography!
It was a beautiful morning. The mountains and clouds were shining.
We enjoyed a Japanese-style breakfast which is rice, miso soup, and many side dishes. Do Japanese eat like this every morning? Hmm... not really. I eat rice, miso soup, and a few small side dishes like natto, an egg, pickles, etc. Some people have toast and coffee. Some just have coffee. Some skip breakfast. By the way, my parents usually have rice and miso soup for all three meals every day. Is this surprising to you?
We got on a charter bus at 8:15 and head for the Enza Cafe. Then we started walking in the woods to the Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen-Koen).
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6028.html
*I wrote an article about how to get to Snow Monkey Park from Tokyo by public transportation. The buses are not so frequent, but it's feasible to visit the park without renting a car if you check out the timetable and plan well.
https://pict-japan.blogspot.com/2018/10/snow-monkeys-in-nagano.html
After a-half-an-hour walk, suddenly the woods ended and we arrived at this hot spring area.
Hey, guys! That bridge takes you to human's onsen.
If you want to see the monkeys' onsen, let's go right.
And walk up the stairs.
Oh, wow! A real one is on the sign! He really draws our "attention"!
Even before entering the Snow Monkey Park, you'll see monkeys here and there.
This is the entrance to the Park. Please check out the hours and admission fee.
http://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/guide
We entered the park around 9am.
They are so cute, aren't they?
Photographers might need some extra cards and batteries because you can't really stop taking photos. :P
There are already so many people here at 9:40.
People are wishing to take the photos of monkeys in the onsen, but they won't go in until it really gets cold.
That means you can take some cute fluffy photos.
It looks like the monkeys know that we are waiting for them to take the bath and they intentionally avoid it.
Finally, a monkey got in the bath! Yay!!
Recently, I saw a TV documentary about how this park was built. People in this area used to be bothered by monkeys and were trying to get rid of them. However, a man called Mr. Sougo Hara really wished to live happily with monkeys and started feeding them in 1962. One day, a baby monkey jumped in the onsen and played around and other monkeys started taking a bath too. As it attracted tourists, they opened the park in 1964 and Mr. Hara became the first director of the park. Nowadays, the social network made it even more popular.
When we left the park at 10:15, there was already a long waiting line to the entrance.
Let's move on to the next.
Our next stop is Kagami-ike. The literal translation is Mirro Pond.
https://www.japanhoppers.com/en/chubu/nagano/kanko/875/
As there was no wind, we could capture the beautiful reflection!!
The tour leader was running around and helped us take better shots.
When I looked back, the sky was also beautiful and this cute couple was taking photos.
Lunchtime! We enjoyed Japanese soba (buckwheat noodle) which is a very famous food in Togakushi.
Then we came to this Togakushi Shrine Okusha area.
http://www.go-nagano.net/shisetsu-detail?shisetsuid=1001001
Hey, guys! Did you take good ones?
Some of the members went all the way to the shrine's main building, but I stopped at this gate called Zuijin-mon and walked back.
Hmm... this one is very impressive.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqs_udVF1zE/
Before going back to the inn, we stopped by at another pond called Kotori-ga-ike. "Kotori" means a little bird, so you may see a lot of birds here.
Luckily, there weren't any birds and we got this perfect reflection!
Oh? What are they doing up there? They set the timer for 10 seconds and run back here for a group shot which is almost impossible. LOL
The remote doesn't work because it was a bit too far.
So... it seems they ended up using multiple timers (though I don't know the detail). Anyway, they do have a lot of fun ideas for photography and keep me surprised!
Is this the one taken with the multiple timers? No? Well, it may look similar to this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqnamZnloXR/
Now, back at the hotel at the private bath on the rooftop (we got the permission), we took some night shots with long exposure.
It was quite difficult because some lights came out too bright if I try to capture the stars in the sky at the same time. Perhaps there are some techniques for shooting and editing.
Dinner!!! Many of us enjoyed Japanese sake.
After dinner, we gathered in the lounge with laptops and learned photo editing.
Does this sound too intensive to you?
Well, we enjoyed it very much. This was a paradise for the people who are obsessed with photography!
I don't remember exactly how the bus driver went, but these are the location we visited for the day.
