Yudanaka - Takayama: April 29

Today we woke up early and checked out asap to go see the monkeys, the kind family hosting us gave me a business card and some Japanese stamps with Yudanaka's famous snow monkeys as the image. We rushed to the train station to keep our luggage in a coin locker and caught a bus at the last moment to snow monkey park. It was a quick hike up the mountain and you could tell when the first monkeys were visible when a crowd of people were huddled up. We paid our admission and observed the monkeys in their natural habitat, it was really fun to watch them play, and huddle together, and groom each other. There were a lot of baby monkeys because they tend to have babies right after winter.

    After taking a hundred pictures of the monkeys we made our way back down the hill and spotted an ice cream vendor selling apple ice cream which sounded intriguing. Nagano, the prefecture in which Yudanaka is located, is famous for its apples so we had to try it. It was not exactly ice cream, more like a thicker apple sauce but frozen, and it was absolutely delicious. It was very refreshing and clean, but still hit the spot for a sweet treat.

    We made our way back to the train station, unlocked our bags and hopped on the train. The train started to depart, but paused just a few moments later and they had to do some repairs to the train. The staff on the train apologized profusely in Japanese fashion as the trains here run like clockwork, and if one is late it stands out. Ironically, the train still arrived exactly on time despite the late departure. On the train ride the staff were selling local treats and I bought a small bottle of apple juice to enjoy more of Nagano's famous apples.

    The train stations on the way had some great views of the Hida mountains.

    We eventually arrived in Takayama and checked in, dropped off our bags, and got some food. We had a food that a nearby city, Hida, is famous for called Hida beef. Hida beef is known as some of the finest beef in all of Japan. Hida beef is a taste of this high quality meat on a stick, so you can have some without paying for an entire steak. Entire steaks of Hida beef tend to be very expensive. It was so tender and juicy, it would literally melt in your mouth.

    After eating we walked to Shiroyama park and walked up the hill in the middle for the view of the city and the Hida mountains.

    Then we walked back down the hill in the dark rain, it was a little bit spooky. We found a Vietnamese restaurant and I had some banh mi, it was very tasty as usual. We made it back to the hotel and got some rest.