I suspect by now you’ll all have noticed there’s a suspicious lack of selfie in this set of pictures. Generally speaking, I did pretty well at getting a photo for everyday to prove I was actually there. On this day I failed.
The problem was because I was so busy running around trying to take pictures of the Japanese Macaques. It was a fantastic day that knocked off a few bucket list items for me.
For now, enjoy Nagano!
My day started with the longest train ride I’d ever experienced. It was only an hour and a half, but I didn’t manage to get a reservation. This meant the train was packed and was standing room only. Once I met up with the tour, our first stop was Zenkō-ji Temple, and these beauties who guarded it.
This was the main street leading up to temple. It was filled with shops, markets, and more importantly ice cream. It was a joy to take in the smells.
This was the figure that sat upon the giant incense pot. Incense so far was a custom at every shrine I visited; more often than not they all had exquisitely crafted incense holders. This particular one was so fragrant the smell carried throughout the temple plaza.
I wanted to show the scale of the incense against the size of the temple. I found it beautiful.
Around the temple there were both lanterns and statues made from both bronze as well as stone. It was a privilege to walk through the pathway and learn about the stories behind them.
While many people from my tour group decided to do various activities at the temple, I opted to investigate the surrounding area and look at some more statues. This one of the mother and her baby was a personal favourite.
The language barrier sometimes (lets be honest, often) prevented me from learning about many of these statue’s history. She was one of them and I wish I found out. There was only a few people around me and it was a calm place to escape the busy main street.
After the temple my group met up to learn about (and taste) some of the different varieties of sake. It was interesting to taste how varied each drink was. We then drove into the hills to see the Japanese Macaques.
This is a real hotel you can stay in overnight. I didn’t opt for that, but I kind of wish I had. There’s a natural hot spring at the hotel where the monkeys frequent and I hear they’ll let you get in the water with them.
The pathway to the monkey park was surprisingly long and a bit muddy, so it makes sense that any locals who work at (or deliver supplies to) the hotel would need some faster transportation that walking.
This was my first taste of what was to come. Outside of the park entrance this Japanese Macaque sat and watched the visitors as they came streaming in. Inside though, there was hundreds of monkeys in this troop.