Jigokudani, Matsumoto & Nagoya

This is the last post from our 4-month stay in Japan. We had an amazing trip to Jigokudani Monkey Park. There are a lot of Japanese macaques who roam free and take advantage of the large onsens (hot springs baths) that have been built for them.


We stayed at this ryokan, directly opposite the park. In the winter, the monkeys travel to the ryokan to the outside baths -- so you can take a bath with them! The ryokan had a very large dinner, including crickets, a local specialty. Russ and I both tried them, but Laurea wouldn't have anything to do with it.
Our next-to-last stop was Matsumoto. Matsumoto is famous for its castle (see 4th picture below) and elaborate string balls. We found a mechanical clock, which looks like one of those string balls, that opens to show dancers on top ... then again to show an orchestra on the bottom.



Our last stop was Nagoya, where we stayed in a very nice ryokan and then headed off to the airport for home.