25th – Nagano

I had signed up for a day tour in Nagano starting at 0930 which meant I had to depart Tokyo two hours before. That meant an alarm at 0600. And I apparently do this voluntarily.

 But everything went as scheduled (of course) and I arrived on time with the other 46 people who had signed up for the tour. While it’s far from every day the group is as large as it was today it apparently isn’t unheard of, either, but due to the group size the two guides (German & American) decided to split us up in two. I ended up in the American’s group, and during roll call I was asked what I preferred to be called after struggling with pronouncing my name. My answer – as usual in these cases – was jokingly “God Emperor”. But in this case it was taken to heart so throughout the day I was referred to as God Emperor. I guess I could have been called (much) worse.

Our half started the day with going to a sake tasting where we went through app. 10 small cups of different varieties – including some non-alcoholic which were milky-white with a creamy consistency. That was a weird experience. Also, with the stronger tasting sakes I confirmed that I very likely will never be good friends with them. Just not really to my taste.

After that joyous start of the day we headed out to the Zenkoji Temple. Apparently it’s a nondenominational temple so people of all faiths are allowed to pray inside. It was built in the 7^th century and the city was built up around it. The temple’s main Buddha statue is allegedly the first statue that came to Japan, and the temple commands total secrecy so no one are allowed to see the statue, not even the high priests. You can pray to it; you are let into a completely darkened room where it is located at the end of a long hallway and you must feel your way to the prayer spot and back. A replica is taken out for people to see every 6 years or so, and during those 1½-2 months literally millions come to Nagano to see it.

 

Zenkoji Temple.

Also; something a bit more down to earth the bell that was rung to initiate the winter Olympics in 1998 is located just outside the temple.

 

Not quite Big Ben but they did seem a bit proud of it.

At noon we walked over to the restaurant where we had lunch (a bit of shabu-shabu) before getting back into our bus and driving to the monkey national park. The 45 minute drive felt much shorter than that, probably because I managed to nod off half way there.

Form the parking lot we had a 2km walk ahead of us where 1½ of them was on a 1-1½m wide dirt path in the forest with a drop on one side and steep hill on the other. Being in a cold area there was still patches of compressed snow lying around so at times you had to be very careful where you put your feet. Luckily the majority of the path was flat and any incline had steps put into the ground. But with the narrow path and people returning down it did get frustrating at times getting stuck behind people who clearly were in no hurry to see the monkeys and walking as if they were just learning how to walk.

But finally I made it to the end; seeing the macaques in the pool was enormously soothing. Sitting there they all just seemed so relaxed. I must admit, though, that the pool was significantly smaller than I had expected, and I had always assumed there would be more than one. You ended up focusing so much on them that you completely forgot about all the others on the cliffs and hills around you, and also running on railings and on the ground just past your feet. Overall it was just a joy to see all the monkeys relaxing and seemingly having a good time despite our close presence. And sitting there with their eyes half closed zen-like in the steam they were just so photogenic.

It was pretty cold on the day – no wonder the monkeys preferred soaking in the pool – but I was stubborn and insisted on staying as long as possible. And I’m glad I did; right before close, around 1545, the rangers came out with buckets of feed which was something that immediately got everyone out of the pool. With all of them moving around near the rangers you suddenly realized how many were actually present and how many were hidden in the surrounding landscape. And yet, despite the numbers, it was all happening in a calm manner; there was barely any fighting and none of them went for the buckets but instead waited patiently for the feed to be thrown out to them. While the staff does feed them it is not enough for them to survive, only just enough to keep them interested and keep them coming to the pool for the enjoyment of the tourists.

 

Based on all the photos I had seen of the monkeys before seeing them myself 

I assumed the pool was much larger than it was, but it turned out to be quite small.

From our group we were 2 left plus the German guide, and when the feeding was done we went back down to the bus where we arrived as the last a few minutes before the 1630 deadline. The rest had arrived some time ago and had just been waiting – a waste of time in my eyes with all those monkeys on display. We returned to the station (with another nap along the way) where I got onto the train back to Tokyo before heading to the hotel and going to bed.