thank you very much for the email and the pictures YUDANAKA.Snow Monkey

Dear Mr.Yumoto,

thank you very much for the email and the pictures.
We spent a very good time in your country and we remember you and your wife as very welcoming hosts. So we did enjoy the time beeing in your house. No matter what our questions or need you were there to help highly recomendable with maps and answers.
We wish you all the best,
Domo Arigato,

Susanne and Frederik John, Germany

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

Thank you for wonderful holiday.

Dear Mr Ichirou Yumoto,

This is Yovanka and Ashley Rothschild, we stayed at your ryokan a few weeks ago and we would like to thank you and your lovely wife for your hospitality. We had a wonderful time and going to see the monkeys was one of our favourite things out of the whole trip. We would also like to thank you for the recommendation of the private outdoor bath, that was very beautiful and very memorable. Thankyou for looking after us and we would love to come back and visit again oneday.

Regards, Yovanka and Ashley Rothschild

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

YUDANAKA

Mr. Yumoto,

My family and I would like to thank you again for everything you did for us when we stayed at your hotel in mid-August. Our 3 days in Yudanaka remain as one of the best memories of our unforgettable trip in Japan. Your generosity and dedication to your clients are remarkable and my children will never forget Mr. Yumoto and his big car!! The flavour of your delicious peaches are still in our mouth!
Mr. Yumoto, you are an extraordinary ambassador of your wondeful country.
All my family wishes you the best for the future.
Domo Arigato
François, Sophie, Arthur and Oscar from Canada.

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

Thank you very much for the pictures you send us

Dear mr. and mrs Yumoto,
Thank you very much for the pictures you send us.
We were pleasantly surprised to hear from you.We have good memories of our trip to Japan and also we like to thank you again for the warm and careful treatment you gave us.
You both are very caring people, who do their utmost to make a visitor feel welcome.
We wish you the same treatment everywhere in the world, when you are visiting a foreign country.
We will tell all our friends to come and visit your place when they are in the opportunaty.It is more than worth while.
Hope to see you some day again.
Thank you very much!
All the best and good luck!
Bye
Ria and Claudia van Harten from Holland

タグ：yudanaka snow monkey shimaya JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

yudanaka,Thank you very much.

Hello,

Thank you so much for the pictures! We all had an excellent stay at the Shimaya and everyone was very impressed by your wonderful service and friendly help! Thank you.

Tyler Palma

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA yudanaka snow monkey

We loved Yudanaka and the Shimaya accommodation

We loved Yudanaka and the Shimaya accommodation. Mr Yumoto is keen to make sure that everyone has memories to take away with them. On the first night he sat down with us and worked out an itinerary so we could get a taste of many activities. He can also recommend places to eat at and visit in the surrounding towns. He arms you with brochures and maps before you leave for the day. We found the service particularly excellent all over Yudanaka.

After we booked online we were sent information on how to get to the hotel including a map. The hotel is before the museum. It has no English sign to recognise it’s the Shimaya hotel but the museum does so when you see the museum on the left it is the hotel you are walking pass. Mr Yumoto’s silver van is usually out the front.

Mrs Yumoto is a sweet caring host. She makes an excellent Japanese and Western breakfast.

It is handy to know a couple of Japanese words so you can greet and thank people. There is a seven eleven near by which has a machine where you can access money. You can pay for the accommodation with you card but you need cash for skiing. We went tobogganing for a half day and that cost approx 6,800 yen.

Yudanaka is well worth the trip just to experience the homely and helpful environment of the Shimaya hotel.

Tamara and Adrian

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

We just wanted to write to thank you so much for looking after us when we stayed at the Shimaya Ryokan

Mr Yumoto

We just wanted to write to thank you so much for looking after us when we stayed at the Shimaya Ryokan.

I know we were only able to stay the one night but we loved your place so much we wanted to share this with other travelers. We arrived late in the afternoon and thought that we would not be able to see the monkeys but you very kindly personally drove us up to there with plenty of time to spare. After a lovely walk up through the forest to reach the monkeys we were able to spend around an hour just watching a large group of around 100 macaques in and out of the pools, playing, fighting and preening. The place was incredibly peaceful and as we were there at the end of the day the monkeys were very relaxed and happy for us to get relatively close to photograph them. The elder ones were ever so relaxed and the younger ones still running around, fighting and tumbling around but again we got very close, even to the alpha male and to a mother and very small bright eyed baby who didn’t stray too far from her. You then picked us up as well (whilst we saw others who trekked back to their lodgings).

You arranged for us to go to a private outdoor hot spring with great views, particularly at sunset and then recommended a lovely place to go for dinner and phoned ahead so that they were expecting us.

Our Japanese style room was beautifully clean, spacious and very comfortable with futons and tatami flooring. As I was still jetlagged it was also lovely to have the space to close off the lounge and to read without waking my husband who slept very soundly next door. For breakfast, we loved the authentic Japanese option that you and your wife offer (although I know you also have a Western option) and were very amused by your retro self playing piano music which accompanied our breakfast.

Lastly, we just wanted to thank you again for your amazing hospitality and are only sorry that we could not stay longer.



Sonya Walzer

タグ：snow monkey park JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

We had a wonderful stay and would love to come back in the winter.

Yumoto-san and family are excellent hosts. Nothing is too much. Yumoto-san recommended the sushi restaurant a 2 minute-walk away where sushi was prepared in front of us. It’s an artwork. We sat at the counter along with Yuko-a lovely Japanese lady who lives in California. Another recommendation was the noodle restaurant next door where we had soba(mushrooms, onions, chilli with cup-shaped noodles)-delicious! For lunch we went to the bread and jam place where the wonderful chef came with an amazing meal, catering perfectly for my wheat allergy. The monkey park was spectacular! Yumoto-san drove us to the entrance and picked us up from the microbrewery(free tastings of sake and beer!). Ask or point and go to see the brewery itself, a few steps down the road from the museum/ship and learn more from the Engish speaking beer-maker. Back to the monkeys, there are drink vending machines but no food(not a problem if you’ve filled up on the wonderful breakfast served by the family!). We stayed 3 hours and took lots of photos. The monkeys are very entertaining and don’t seem to be bothered with humans but don’t whistle to get their attention. We had a wonderful stay and would love to come back in the winter.

Karen and Dave
From Chester, England

タグ：JAPAN NAGANO Snow monkey Jigokudani YUDANAKA SHIMAYA

2009-04-06

Shichimi spice is a popular souvenior from Zenkoji made of red peper mixed with many other spices
Dear Mr. Ichirou,



We are a couple from Bangkok, Thailand who stay with you on Mar 24. We are back to Thailand already after a wonderful trip in Japan.



We are very much impressed with your hotel and especially the services that you provided for us.

It was such a good experience that we have when visiting Yudanaka and the monkey onsen.

We were very lucky to have a chance walking in the forest while it was snowing. Many monkeys also come to the onsen on that day because it was cold.

The guy at the monkey park told us that if we went there one day earlier; there were only a few monkeys around because it was warm.



Thanks also for your recommendation that we should spend 1-2 hours at Zenkoji temple in Nagano before departing. The temple was nice and worth spending our time. It is very easy to go by bus from Nagano station. We did not forget to buy a can of No.7 spice from a shop near the temple. It is very good and it also help us a lot when we were in Sapporo eating seafood. The spice made seafood in Sapporo much more delicious. I also attached the picture of the grilled shells that we ate in Otaru. The shells are super fresh and they taste very good with the No.7 spice. J



Thank you and thank you; again and again for everything.



Best wishes,

teerasit

Bangkok, Thailand

2009-03-02

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy3r18QgmKg

Setsubun 2009

Setubun in Yamanouchi was such a great experience!
We are all students studying abroad in Japan who decided a trip to Nagano was needed bduring our stay.
We have only been able to stay for a weekend, but even this short amount of time, it was worth it!
Sometimes it is hard to see the "real" Japan, but going to the Setsubun festival poresented us with an amazing oppotunity!
If you do decide to come atay here over Setsubun, make sure to bring a plastic bag to the festival( to catch candys, sweets, and mikans -watvch out!) and look for the brown / tan colored envelopes with red writing.
Apparently, those are like lottery tickets.
After the ceremony is over, which, consists of the people pictured throwing gifts into the audience, yoiu can exchange you envelope.
Most give you only household products like tissue paper or toilet paper,.
BUT some can get you a bottle of sake.
It was completely worth it (and the owner's drive you) .
I recommend everyone to go!!
Kansai Gaidai Exchange Students