A weekend in Nagano

On the weekend, we travelled to Nagano Prefecture - famous for its snow resorts and the 1998 Winter Olympics, amongst other things. It was also, for me, the first time outside the Kansai region (other than my first day in Japan). We met the bus in Osaka at 11pm on Friday night...

It was my first time snowboarding. As you can see, I was far from being the embodiment of grace, poise and timing, but I did manage to stay balanced for a sustained period of time. I almost made it all the way down the slope without falling off. Almost.

And then, on Sunday, we travelled to Jigokudani Park to see the famous Japanese Snow Monkeys. These are amazing creatures, who live in the mountains and come down to the valley during the day to feed and bathe in the hot springs. I was amazed at how close we could get to them, without causing any distress or alarm. They were generally indifferent - possibly due to the knowledge that, if they wanted to, they could re-enact certain scenes from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. They were certainly big enough, and had the numbers...

Then, it was back on the bus at 2pm. We arrived at Kishi at 11:30pm. Despite it being a long trip, and the fact that every muscle in my body is sore from snowboarding, this weekend has definitely been a highlight of my time in Japan.