We've been traveling together since Tokyo. If you haven't joined the journey yet, it's not too late.

Jump on the bandwagon and join us!

I'll be taking you on a tour during Japan's Golden Week, so you can see for yourself what it's like to travel during a time that's supposedly best avoided. I'll share my firsthand experience with you.

In case any of you accidentally booked tickets because of a cheap deal like I did, you can try planning your trip based on my experience.

Episode 1: Japan Golden Week, Let's Go! What to Do? #1 (Kawaguchiko-Shibazakura)

https://th.readme.me/p/4476

Episode 2: Japan Golden Week, Let's Go! What to Do? #2 (Drive to Karuizawa)

https://th.readme.me/p/4489

Episode 3: Japan Golden Week, Let's Go! What to Do? #3 (To Nagano, Visiting Zenkoji)

https://th.readme.me/p/4514

If you've caught up with us, let's continue the journey!


This morning, Big Brother and Little Sister woke up early to use the bathroom because they were afraid that other guests might come in at the same time as us.

By going early, we were able to lock the room and use it as a private bathroom.

Then, the other two travel companions went to take care of themselves before joining us for a light breakfast to fill our stomachs before we set off.

Actually, the accommodation provides breakfast, but we can't eat anything heavy early in the morning.

Light breakfast before departure

The owner of the accommodation and his son, whom we met yesterday, were waiting to send us off. We took a selfie with the uncle as a souvenir.

The son also gave us directions on how to get there, explaining everything very well.

He also suggested that we park our car at the free parking spot, which is not too far away, so we wouldn't have to pay. He was really nice.

After saying goodbye to the owner of the accommodation, we finally set off.

Our main goal for the day was Jigokudani Yaen-Koen,

also known as Snow Monkey Park, or simply Snow Monkeys.

From Yudanaka Seifuso, follow Highway 342

We will arrive at the parking spot in about 5 minutes.

Walking map to Snow Monkey Park

Parked the car, camera ready, energy ready, let's start walking

Let's start walking from the parking lot.

Start point, distance 1.6 kilometers or approximately 30 minutes

The first step still looks good.

The concrete road is no more. Please take note.

The eldest brother walked briskly.

The walking path does not have many signs, but there is only one way, so most tourists follow each other. There is no way to get lost.

Especially when we come in the hot season like us, there is nothing to worry about.

But if you travel in January-February, which is the period of heavy snowfall,

You can see from the picture that Nulek brought that walking in is quite difficult.

You have to be careful.

But that time is the recommended time to visit because it is said to be much more fun.

But we can come during this time, so we have to accept that it will not be as fun as they say.

Cute by the wayside

The high number of tourists visiting, coupled with the pleasant morning weather, may be the reason for this.

We were ready with three or four other tourists who left the starting point at the same time. We arrived at the destination at about the same time, which didn't take long.

Seeing this sign means we're almost there.

Upon entering the Snow Monkey Park, there is a bridge for us to cross a small stream and climb a flight of stairs to the next level.

To reach the tourist service center and ticket booth.

On the way to the ticket booth.

OMG!!! The homeowner came to welcome us.

Walking without caring about anyone

And then he led the way, as if he were a guide.

When you walk past this point, there will be a path for us to walk down to the nature trail again.

Actually, if you don't want to walk far like me, you can park your car at a resort nearby. But it will cost a little bit.

As we enter this area, we will start to see these snow monkeys roaming around at intervals.

They must consider this place their home, and we are like strangers visiting.

Look at each of them.

On the way to the hot spring

This mother-daughter pair is sooooooo cute!

Full of chaos

Bridge to the natural hot spring

Full of tourists

Even though the weather wasn't very cold when I visited, it was still full of them.

These monkeys are wild monkeys that come down from the mountains to soak in the hot springs to relieve the cold. They live in the wild.

There is a feeding time by the staff of the center.

Because this is a conservation center for Japanese monkeys, also known as Nihon Saru. Tourists can take close-up pictures of the monkeys.

The only rule is that you cannot touch the monkeys, as this will disturb the animals.

All monkeys are not afraid of water and have excellent swimming skills.

Confirm with picture

Playing without caring about the eyes of those who are watching us.

They seem to be having a lot of fun.

Their faces are truly ecstatic.

Let's take a closer look at their full range of expressions.

These monkeys can actually be found in various regions throughout Japan, such as Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

However, the famous place to see Japanese snow monkeys is here because it is a place where you can see monkeys soaking in hot springs up close.

Since they are wild monkeys, the monkeys may or may not come down to soak in the hot springs.

Here, they have cameras installed at the hot springs so that tourists can watch the live broadcast of the hot springs.

Jigokudani Yaen-Koen website

http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam/monkey/index.htm

We can check if there are monkeys down at the pond before we go.

The picture you see will be like this. You can watch it every day. Let's take a look. I guarantee you'll be hooked.

If you travel during the winter, you will have a higher chance of seeing them soaking in the hot springs than during other seasons.

And because the little mouse knows the camera angles because she sits and watches them every day before going, she chose the angle where the general public sits together as a team. And what you get is

The four people in the left corner of the picture are us.


The technique to get this kind of picture is not difficult. Just sit there for a while, then open the website and load the time period we are sitting in.

Note: This may take some time because the wifi signal from the Pocket Wifi we have is barely helpful.

Because we walked into the forest, which is a no-signal area, it takes a little patience to download the image from the website.

But to keep this picture as a souvenir, nothing is beyond my efforts.

I'm so happy to be able to capture them like this.

Go all out!

This is the real deal.

Surrounding area

We spent quite a long time here to match our desire to encounter this kind of natural atmosphere.

It was almost noon when we finally started our journey back.

Stop looking at the view

Looking far away, you will see mountains surrounding it.

Japanese villagers are growing vegetables.

Let's get started.

Today's destination is Chikuma City, where we have already booked our accommodation. The distance from here is not too far.

But as usual for the big brother and little sister's tour group,

The type that goes straight to the destination is not very common. We have to find something to stop by on the way.

Big brother found out that there is a public park called Garyu Park in Suzaka City on the way.

A few days ago, they had a cherry blossom festival that just ended, so we decided to stop by and see if there are any left for us to admire.

Okay, let's go. We'll see where we end up.

We found a rest stop along the way, so we decided to take a break.

There is a large apple orchard on the side.

There are no results yet. There are only flowers all over the tree.

Let's try some Nagano apples.

Soft cream is also available. Oh my! There's even a soba flavor!

KitKat in apple and chili powder flavors.

The eye-catching color that I had to capture for you.

With supplies, let's go and continue our journey.

Along the path, there are still cherry blossoms to admire. This is the advantage of coming during this transition period.

According to the information I read, Garyu Park has about 800 cherry trees planted.

During the cherry blossom festival, this is another popular spot for tourists.

At night, they turn on the lights to allow visitors to admire the cherry blossoms under the lights, which, judging from the information on the website, seems quite interesting as well.

We've arrived at Garyu Park. Let's go in!

There is a very large pond.

The fish are plentiful.

But what about what we're looking for? Where are the cherry blossoms? Look to your right.

The picture shows no cherry blossoms, only lush green trees.

Try looking to the left.

Only a few cherry blossom trees are in full bloom.

The real world and the dream world are always different. Of the 800 cherry blossom trees, if we were to count them as a percentage,

we would probably say that only 1% are left to be seen. There are only fresh green leaves all over the area.

They also have short and long walking trails for tourists to enjoy.

Since we had limited time, we opted for a short walk.

A cute starting point with a bird model attached.

A steep path up the mountain

Small flowers by the roadside, beautiful colors

Aerial view from the top of the mountain

After a while, the path descends to the ground, retracing the path we came in.

In the middle of the water where you can see the red bridge crossing

It will be like an island where you can walk around.

There is also a small shrine.

Although there are only a few cherry trees left, the ones that still have flowers are making us very happy.

It's like a Hanami Festival when you stand under the tree like this.

How can I not be excited when you're so beautiful?

Close up a bit, it's really cool.

Seeing that it was time, we continued our journey to our accommodation for the day.

As I mentioned earlier, tonight's accommodation is in Chikuma, a city that probably doesn't attract many Thai tourists.

The reason we chose to book accommodation in this city tonight

Because tomorrow morning's program is a program that we are all eagerly looking forward to visiting.

That is to visit the roof of Japan or better known as "Japan Alps"

The journey from this city is not close to tomorrow's destination, we just wanted to sleep in a different city.

Let's go to the accommodation.

As soon as we entered the city, we were greeted by a sea of cars.

Our hotel for the night is Hotel Route Inn Court Koshuku, which offers free breakfast and parking.

The sight of the room made all our tiredness vanish.

The hotel arranged for us to stay on the 8th floor, which is the top floor. It has the usual amenities of a hotel, and it's nice and quiet.

The most impressive thing was the view from the window of the room, which offered a panoramic view of the city.

We had our fill of the mountain views.

Today, we went shopping at the mall in the city to wait until after 8pm for these things.

Shopping after 8pm to get these items

It means our ability to have to pick up in time for the Japanese people who are also waiting for the same time.

Because it's half-priced, both fresh and delicious, who can resist?

Play this meal to be full and no one will give in.

Ending with an apple from Nagano, one for each person.

After our bellies were full, we quickly packed our things.

We packed our clothes and belongings, ready to move out first thing tomorrow morning.

We have an appointment to move out at four in the morning. Why does it have to be this early? We'll find out tomorrow.

Don't forget to come along on the journey, don't miss it.
Let's continue our trip.

You can say hello, chat and see photos of people who love to travel like us. https://www.facebook.com/TravelWithPiyaiAndNoolek/


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