Kourukan

Snow Monkeys

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October 9th 2007
Ok, so we took an 1 hour bus ride from Nagano to Jigokudani and hiked, in the rain, for around 40 minutes up a mountain with our backpacks, and finally we reached Kourokan Ryokan, where we will bath with the snow monkeys... as soon as the rain stops. The rain didn't stop, so we said "screw it, let's bathe in the Onsen in the rain. As Amit so aptly put it "we will warm up and cool off at the same ... read more

Asia » Japan » Nagano

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In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more