This is the final blog of my five part series about my Japan 2011 Photo Project. I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure as much as I had writing about it.
The final leg of my journey was going to Nagano Prefecture to photograph the Japanese Macaque, also known as the snow monkey. The snow monkeys are mainly found on the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. I went to Honshu to Joshin-etsu Kogen National Park, in Nagano Prefecture.
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| Shibu Onsen |
The day my wife and I departed Tokyo, it was cloudy, and it seemed rain was imminent. We were traveling approximately 3 hours from Tokyo, and I was hoping the weather would be better. As we rode the train it seemed luck wouldn't be on my side. However, the closer we got to our destination the sun began to break through, but when we arrived, it was raining, just as I believed it would.
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| Japanese Macaque |
We walked around Shibu Onsen a small village near the park, and decided to eat some cold soba. Zaru Soba is a Japanese noodle served on a zaru (draining basket made from bamboo), with a chilled dipping sauce, green onions and wasabi. We rode the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagano, changed to a local train, which took us to Shibu Onsen. Was this going to be the highlight of our long trip. As I pondered while eating, my wife said we should push on and go to the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen Park where the snow monkey hangs out. Not sure how much further we needed to travel my wife asked the waitress for directions and she suggested we take a taxi to the park entrance, from there we would need to walk the remainder of the way. The reward was much more than I expected. At first I was reluctant but decided to listen to my wife's advice and can say I'm glad I did. "I Learned From That".
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| Japanese Snow Monkey |
