SNOW MONKEY YUDANAKA SHIBU OBUSE SHIGAKOGEN SHIMAYA

On 15th of Feb 2010, we travelled from Tokyo to Nagano Station and took the Nagano limited
express to Yudanaka train station. Once we got hold of our bearings, we started our trek up the
slight slope to Shimaya Ryokan in the snow. Not long afterwards, a white‐hair Japanese man drove
by in his small van and stopped to ask us in English where we were going. When we told him we
were heading towards Shimaya Ryokan, he asked us to get into the van. We found out later that he
is Ichiro‐san, the owner of Shimaya Ryokan.
As it was only about 3pm, Ichiro‐san immediately suggested that we visit the monkey park. We
quickly checked into our Japanese‐style tatami room and off‐load our luggage. 10 minutes later, we
were in Ichiro‐san’s van again with another Singaporean couple on our way to the monkey park. We
were very grateful to Ichiro‐san’s offer to drive us there as the journey was mostly uphill and it was
snowing. Ichiro‐san also told us that the 30minutes trek to the Monkey Park was going to be a
beautiful experience and he was spot on. After visiting the monkeys, Ichiro‐san picked us up from
the entrance of the Monkey Park trail and recommended an outdoor hot spring experience which
was our first time in Japan. The hot spring, which only costs 600 Yen per person, overlooks the Japan
Alps. We also asked Ichiro‐san to recommend a cheap and good eating house and he brought us to a
Japanese restaurant that is within walking distance from the ryokan. We had a good soba and curry
katsu meal for dinner. The restaurant also gave us a small memento when we left, which now hangs
at our bedroom door knob.
Next day, Ichiro‐San recommended that we take a walk along Shibu Onsen (about 20mins walk from
Shimaya Ryokan) in the morning and visit Obuse (few train stops from Yudanaka Station) in the
afternoon. He was so hospitable that he drove us to the start point of the walk that is on a hill top
which has a scenic view of Shibu Onsen. It was a great walk and we had a value for money lunch of
fried chicken and rice (directions found in a leaflet in Shimaya Ryokan) in one of the restaurants. We
got back to Shimaya Ryokan and prepared for our trip to Obuse. At Obuse, we walked around the
quaint small town and found a classy restaurant that serves chestnut rice.
Since we had a good experience with much help and advice from the knowledgeable Ichiro‐san, we
decided to extend our stay in Shimaya Ryokan for another night. We wanted to visit the ski slopes
but we didn’t know the best place to go as we had no intentions to ski. Ichiro‐san suggested that we
go to the Yakebitai ski slope which offers a great view. Ichiro‐san also gave us specific instructions to
take Gondola 2 for better sightseeing experience. He also offered to give us a ride to Yudanaka
Station the next morning and provided useful instructions for getting from the ski‐slope to Nagano
Station.
The next morning, we woke up to have an early dip in the onsen at the basement of Shimaya
Ryokan. Before checking out, we took some photos with Ichiro‐san and his wife, who gave us three
Japanese lucky coins for “happy connections”. We were indeed happy with our stay and experience
with Ichiro‐san and his wife’s service at Shimaya Ryokan.
Siew Kei and Geraldine, Singapore (4th April 2010)

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA