Japan: February 2026: Day 10: Snow monkeys

Japan

Feb 2026: Day 10: Snow monkeys

Down to 8 degrees C in the living room when I woke up. Brrrr.

Final breakfast at Yudanaka Yumoto.

Not sure what the tubes at the top were, meat?

1.6km/1 mile walk from parking area to Snow Monkey Park entrance.

Stairs to the entrnace.

Onsen and geyser.

So many monkeys.

End of the trail.

Snow monkey on a stroll.

Monkey butt.

Being fed.

Feeding time.

Out of the water to stare at tourists.

Wet and fuzzy.

Walking back.

Enza Cafe in the parking lot of the snow monkey park.

Their famous (and massive) apple turnovers.

Yudanaka Station.

Express train is here.

Horse sashimi is mostly just chewy.

Beef tongue was okay, not cut thin enough.

At Nagano Meijitei, inside Nagano Station.

They are proud they had the 1998 Winter Olympics here.

Waiting for the shinkansen.

Green car from Nagano to Tokyo was fully booked.

Finally arrived in Ginza, Tokyo.

Upgraded room.

Charm as the ryokan was, it was nice to have in-room heated shower.

Yes, I am old.

Time for waygu.

Yakiniku Sansui inside Ginza Six was just okay..

For the price, I have had much better. But can't fault the presentation.

Nom (just not worth the money).

Starbucks Reserve / Tsutaya Books, also inside Ginza Six.

Nissan Crossing.

Colin and I headed off to see the snow monkeys at Jigokudani Yaen-Koen before leaving Yudanaka that morning. It's a 1.6 kilometer / 1 mile walk from the parking area, then a bit more of a walk up into the mountains before you hit an onsen, geyser, and the snow monkey park proper. Very cool, although honestly not something I'd bother to see unless I was already in the area. Add in some giant apple turnovers from the cafe in the parking lot, watching a surprisingly vicious fight between snow monkeys at the feeding pool, and it was a fun way to spend the morning before you get on the express train back to Nagano.

With Yudanaka being the end of the line, the less-frequent express trains get pretty crowded, so get there a bit early if you can. We had a bit of a longer layover before getting on the Shinkansen to Tokyo, which was nice as it let us get a leisurely lunch at Nagano Station. Chris got his horse sashimi (verdict: still kind of tough compared to tuna), and we ended up very thankful we had gotten the JR Rail Green Car Pass along with the foresight to make seat reservations in advance, as every seat on the green car was full to Tokyo.

Just 80 minutes from Nagano to Tokyo on the Shinkansen is a marvelous experience, getting from Tokyo Station to Ginza, then the walk to dinner probably took almost as long as the Shinkansen ride itself. Yakiniku Sansui inside Ginza Six is kind of overpriced, but I guess that's to be expected given you are in Tokyo. Price aside, the food wasn't bad either, although not the best waygu I've had. Nearby was Nissan Crossing, Nissan's latest showroom, although it was sadly closed by the time we finished dinner.