Snow Monkeys & Soba Noodles
Nov 23rd, 2009 by admin
This short trip from Tokyo to Yamanouchi town in Nagano prefecture, the Japan Alps was the first section of the two week trip to Japan that I planned. The husband had a yearning to see the Jigokudani snow monkeys (wild Japanese macaques) that keep warm in the freezing winter months by bathing in their own outdoor onsen or natural hot spring, and this is apparently the only place in the world where they do this. I initially thought that humans and monkeys bathed together, but more research revealed that this is not the case, although it has been known that a monkey or two will occasionally join humans in a nearby outdoor onsen for humans…
Jigokudani, known as Hell Valley because of its sulphurous and volcanic activity, is not the easiest destination to reach, and our one night at the 400 year old Kokuya ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) in Shibu Onsen was expensive. The trip was, however, worth every minute and every Yen and I would highly recommend it. If you ski or snowboard, then Shiga Kogen ski resort is nearby and Jigokudani could be added on as a side destination.
Shibu Onsen is a traditional and famous onsen spa town where people in their yukata (cotton robes) stroll down the old, narrow cobbled streets after bathing at the various public bath houses to relax at a izakaya (pub) or to return to their ryokan. Dotted around the area are tiny temples and it’s most atmospheric in the evening. Also not to be missed are the onsen tamago or boiled eggs, which taste different to normal boiled eggs because of the minerals present in the onsen water.
Kokuya ryokan is a three floor maze of rooms and baths. Although 400 years old, the building has been added to over the years to its present size, but guests are encouraged to wander and explore. Our room, Fuyo, was located on the third floor and there were fresh baked soba and sesame mini cookies, wagashi (Japanese sweets) and green tea to welcome us. We were told that we could wear our yukata or cotton robes around the ryokan as well as up and down the street (the yukata must always be worn left over right, as the other way is only worn at funerals).
Of course the star attraction of the room was the private bath on our balcony, screened off by bamboo to ensure privacy, but only partially covered so that guests can enjoy the contrast of being in the cold while soaking in the extreme heat of the water. Apparently the Japanese like the water at 50°C, but as it was our own private bath, we could add as much cold water as we wanted. My favourite spot was by the cold tap! In case you haven’t been to an onsen before, you have to shower, then rinse off the soap suds so that you are squeaky clean before entering the water. You have to be naked, although you can use the small towel provided to cover your bits. While you are soaking, this towel sits on your head (with men at any rate). We must have had four long soaks in total, before and after dinner and before and after breakfast, and it still wasn’t enough.
I have to mention that while we were admiring the view of the mountains from the bath, we noticed a snow monkey running across the rooftops! It was such a surprise because the snow monkey habitat is at least fifty minutes away on foot. It was a really special moment…
Dinner was in a private dining room (of which there are two) on tatami. There was a small sheet of paper in English and Japanese explaining the dishes (this changes regularly according to the fresh and seasonal ingredients that they can source) so that we would know what the fourteen dishes were, which just kept coming and coming. I won’t attempt to describe each one as it would require a separate post, but highlights were baked rainbow trout pie, simmered sea bream with grated daikon or Japanese radish, vinegared crab with radish, handmade soba noodles and the freshest rice we’d ever eaten – ‘first rice crop of the year’. It was also fun listening to an elderly Japanese couple enjoying their dinner in the next private room, like we were in a Naruse or Ozu film…
Breakfast was an unexpectedly huge affair, all laid out for us in the same private dining room, with various dishes of grilled salmon, pickles, rice, soup, tofu and onsen tamago (from just outside the ryokan). I can confirm that onsen tamago are the best soft-boiled eggs I have ever eaten – fresh, creamy, delicate and pure heaven. As the husband doesn’t like eggs, I had two!
After breakfast, it was finally time to to see the snow monkeys. From Kokuya, it’s a good fifty minute walk (2.5 km) and we had planned to walk, but as it was pouring with rain, we went by taxi with borrowed umbrellas and wellington boots from Kokuya (and a present of homemade umeboshi onigiri or riceballs for our journey!). En route, we discovered that the walk would have been extremely difficult as most of it is uphill along a steep narrow road through the forest, followed by another steep and slippery walk from the carpark to get to the monkey area (ï¿¥500 entrance fee per person). I can’t imagine what it must be like to do that walk in the winter with heavy snow!
There are an estimated two hundred snow monkeys in the area, and we saw about eighty or so. The advice that I read was not to feed them, and more importantly, not to stare at them because this is considered to be a sign of aggression. However, they were incredibly relaxed around humans (admittedly there were only four humans in total because of the weather, as opposed to coachloads) and at one point a baby and its mother were right next to me. Crouching down to take photos made me even smaller and less threatening too.
When we had taken enough photos of snow monkeys, it was time for a spot of lunch. Rather than turning up at a soba-ya to sample the region’s famous soba (buckwheat) noodles, we turned up for our soba class (ï¿¥2000 / £13.50 per person), pre-arranged by Kokuya. Mrs Sato is the sweetest and friendliest teacher ever and if you go to Shibu Onsen, then you must go and meet her. Although she didn’t speak a word of English and my Japanese is terrible, we or rather the husband, managed to make some delicious soba noodles, which we ate cold with her homemade dipping sauce, along with her own pickles, the freshest young corn on the cob and red apple, all grown by her.
Mrs Sato also gave us an apple and some buckwheat seeds to take with us and told us to grow buckwheat in our garden. I’ll have to do a separate photo essay post on the soba class in the near future so that you can see the technique. You can also stay with Mrs Sato and help out with harvesting and so on, so we plan to do this next time after a couple of nights at Kokuya.
We returned to Tokyo in the early evening tired but extremely well fed and happy…
Practical Information:
Travel - It costs ￥7,970 (£53) one way to reach Nagano station from Tokyo station on the JR Asama Shinkansen (222 km, approximately 90 minutes), but we had bought Japan Rail Passes (£191 for a 7 day pass) from the UK to cover all the other train journeys on our trip, so the travel budget was effectively taken care of. I used Hyperdia to research train times and reserved the seats after activating the Rail Passes at Narita airport.
From Nagano train station, we took the local train, the Nagano Dentetsu (Nagaden) to Yudanaka station (33 km, approximately 47 minutes). This part of the journey is not covered by the Rail Pass, and costs ￥1,230 (£8.20) one way express (or ￥1,130 (£7.50) on the slower train). Train times were also checked using Hyperdia. A helpful station employee helped us buy our tickets using the ticket machine. Tip: sit at the very front of the train to see the amazing view. We only found out after we arrived!
We were then picked up at Yudanaka station by the Kokuya ryokan shuttle bus (the arrival time was timed so that it would coincide with the check-in time, as pick ups can only be arranged around this time). Otherwise Kokuya is just a short taxi ride from Yudanaka.
Hotel – As soon as I read about Kokuya, I knew I wanted to stay there, regardless of the cost. I must have spent hours going through their website, thankfully in English as well as other languages, before finally settling on the Fuyo room, one of ten large rooms with a private open air bath on the balcony and can accommodate up to four or even more people. The cost is listed per person per night (for the Fuyo, it was ï¿¥25,000 (£167) per person during low season) and includes the multiple course kaiseki dinner and a traditional Japanese breakfast, one of the largest I’ve ever had.
There are also six other natural hot spring baths for guests, four outdoor and two indoor, with a further two that can be reserved for private use (which would be useful for guests not staying in the rooms with private open air baths). Finally, I would not have been able to organise this 36 hour trip without Kokuya’s help and I’ve lost count of the number of emails we must have exchanged over the months preceding the stay. If you do travel to Shibu Onsen, this is the ryokan to choose for some luxurious pampering! We’re definitely returning, but to stay for two nights so that we can relax more and of course eat more…
Kokuya
Shibu Onsen, Yamanouchi
Shimotakai-gun, Nagano
Japan 381-040
Tel: 0269-33-2511 Fax: 0269-33-4597
info@ichizaemon.com
Useful links -
- San Francisco Chronicle article – more details about the snow monkeys, and where I read about Kokuya ryokan
- Zeno’s Guide to the Yudanaka – Shibu Onsen area, which helped me immensely with the planning of this little trip (details of the soba making class can be found here)
- Japan National Tourism Organization – more on what to do in Nagano prefecture
- Japan Planning – my original post on researching the Japan trip. The entire Japan series will be archived here under Food & Travel.
- Kyoto Tales – the second of the Japan posts
- Toyko Stories – the third and last of the Japan posts
What a fabulous ryokan! And to see the monkeys! Eeee! Just too adorable though I don’t want to find out what happens if you do stare into their eyes…
Great post and some awesome photos! It looks like your Japan trip has started in style : )
Great post as usual although I can’t believe your husband doesn’t eat eggs.
wowowow i want soba lessons
WOW! What an amazing place to stay – I love the idea of the bath on your balcony and to see those snow monkeys must have been out of this world. I adore the last photo in your post – the colours are breathtaking.
I’m looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!
Great post and that Leica really is a smashing camera… and you take great photos with it!
Fantastic post – I really enjoyed it. It sounds like a mammoth trip but well worth it. The ryokan sounds amazing.
Autumn jap sounds so fab!
hope u had a great time =)
I agree – sounds like an amazing start to your trip, and I’ll also look forward to reading more about the soba making class. How did you find Mrs. Sato?
It is absolutely amazing. I can’t imagine the state your mind should be in at the moment, with all these pictures and souvenirs in mind. I guess you don’t have enough word to describe the beauty of everything you saw and all the experiences you lived. Amazing.
I second everyone’s comments so far – fantastic post, very atmospheric, the World Foodie Guide Idea is definitely taking off! I particularly liked the photo of the soba being chopped up
Keep them coming Helen!
Your post is very informative and descriptive. I don’t know if we can make our way to see those snow monkeys, but it seems worth spending time on traveling there.
BTW, the snow monkeys look quite similar to those I saw in Shatin, Hong Kong long time ago.
Your descriptions alone were enthralling enough but along with the absolutely gorgeous photography, I am thisclose to booking my own stay at Kokuya!
In the meantime, I will just re-read this post, sighing deeply as I daydream about handmade soba noodles, hot springs and very contented macaques.
Su-Lin – I tried really hard to avoid staring at the monkeys and concentrated on my LCD screen instead! There was a minor scuffle between monkeys as the boss arrived but I moved away very quickly. They were mostly really relaxed and grooming each other!
Honor – thank you! This really was one of the highlights of the Japan trip and I can’t wait to return to see the monkeys again…
Mr Noodles – all the more for me! Onsen tamago are the best…
kristina – the soba lesson was really fun, even though it was entirely in Japanese!
The Ginger Gourmand – thanks, it truly was a wonderful place to stay and I really recommend it, even for just one night. The last photo was taken en route to the snow monkeys, really pretty in the pouring rain!
Food. By. Mark – thanks! I didn’t credit the husband with the two black and white ones though, whoops.
Lizzie – thanks! It was really fun to write about the trip. Still reeling from the whole two weeks of food, shopping and things to do…
suzie – thanks, autumn is a good time to visit Japan. It’s sunny but not too cold, although it did rain a bit…
An American in London – I found Mrs Sato through Kokuya, who helped make all the arrangements including getting to her place. As I said, she spoke no English, and my Japanese is sooo basic, but we had so much fun!
Mathilde’s Cuisine – thank you! You’re right, it’s hard to choose the moments to write about as I can’t write about the entire two weeks. I learned so much, not just about food, but about everything. It just shows that even though it was my fifth trip, it might as well have been my first!
kang – thank you! You might have noticed the black and white ones were taken by the other half’s M8…
Christine – they’re just Japanese macaques! The term snow monkeys must have been given when they started bathing in the onsen. There are monkeys in Shatin, wild ones?!
Tangled Noodle – thank you! We really had a wonderful time, and I wish I had booked an extra night to fit in more baths and food…
Helen Yuet Ling
Great post Helen, such a joy to read
My favourite photo has to be the snow monkey, looking a little stunned that you had caught him out of water. Very nice 
What a gorgeous post….When I lived in Japan I befriended a Scottish primatologist who was there to study the snow monkeys, they’re truly fascinating little critters! Reading this has made me incredibly nostalgic.
Absolutely wonderful Helen! I am utterly speechless, not only for what you’ve experienced but also for the amount of detailed planning and subsequent information that you’ve shared here. The photos are AWESOME!
Now I’m off to check those links…
I’m turning green with envy now. Amazing looking holiday.
Wow- the food, surroundings and wildlife all look amazing! Really looking forward to future posts!
catty – thanks! It was so hard choosing just a couple of snow monkey photos as I have many many more which I will put on Flickr when I have time to go through them. It was amazing…
gastrogeek – how interesting! I heard from Kokuya ryokan that some people spend days there just observing them and their interactions with each other within the group. We weren’t there long as it was pouring with rain but it was fascinating to watch them grooming etc
rowena – thanks! This part of the trip was so easy to plan because of the help I got from Kokuya. I just hope that more people will go and have fun and visit the snow monkeys!
Wild Boar – thank you, it really was amazing. I wish we could have spent more time, as it was my favourite part of the two week trip.
The Fastest Indian – thanks, there will be a couple more coming soon…
Helen Yuet Ling
Fabulous story Helen! It’s actually been a dream of mine to see snow monkeys up close ever since seeing them in Baraka
What a gorgeous post! I enjoyed the photography particularly the last one. The colours are stunning.
I had a light chuckle too as I read the post. Mr G always wanted to bathe with the snow monkeys but we didn’t do it while in Japan as I’m not so keen on the whole bathing experience.
Wow, what a magical trip! I adore monkeys and I can’t stop looking at the pictures of them! The food sounds great, of course but…the monkeys!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – you’d like it at Shibu Onsen, it’s so traditional and it’s a great place to relax. I can’t wait to spend more time there…
Gourmantic – haha, we’re the opposite! I’m not so keen on it because I can’t take the hot water. So I was pleased that with a private bath I could control the temperature and sit right next to the cold tap! You should try a private bath, it could change your opinion of bathing…
Helen – I’ll upload more snow monkey photos on Flickr soon!
Helen Yuet Ling
What a fantastic post, and what wonderful photos. When I visited, pre blogging days, I did not take any of these fantastic photos to preserve my memories, but now I can just visit this post for a recap. It looks like you had an incredible time, and to top it off with freshly made soba noodles, well, that just sounds like one of those lifetime memories that you’ll savor. Thanks for sharing look forward to those future posts.
It sounds like a really exciting trip! Staying in a ryokan is so much more rewarding than staying at a hotel.
I recently attended a soba course in Tokyo. It was great fun and hard work. A question, though: I’m not sure whether it is a regional difference, but we were taught to slice the soba really, really, really thin?
OysterCulture – thank you! It was really a most memorable part of the trip, and I’m glad we made the decision to go to see the snow monkeys…
dingsebomsen – it was so much fun! It probably is a regional difference, as Nagano ones (the ones we had in Kokuya) were cut thicker and seem more rustic. But I can’t be certain, given that Mrs Sato didn’t speak any English!
Helen Yuet Ling
This is amazing! Thank you for the wonderful photos and details. I am seriously thinking of going and you’ve just made it so easy for me.
waisze – thank you! I really hope you will go there. It was definitely one of the highlights of the Japan trip and the bit we were looking forward to the most. It had everything – snow monkeys, soba noodles, delicious food, wonderful hospitality, the most amazing private onsen bath, beautiful scenery…I can’t wait to go back!
Helen Yuet Ling