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| Somewhat tired-looking logo on the Snow Monkey Express running between Nagano and Yudanaka |
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| Autumnal colours, Yudanaka |
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| Yudanaka is an onsen town so you see plenty of evidence - this is a free foot bath outside one of the hotels in town |
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| A tiny elephant god inside a hollow pillar in the Sekai Heiwa Kannon statue in Yudanaka |
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| You can see signs along the roadside warning you about bears I don't know how prevalent these bears are - till I came to Yudanaka I didn't know there were bears in Japan! |
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| At the base of the steps leading up to the Kannon statue |
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| 25 metre-high Sekai Heiwa Kannon (buddhist) peace statue |
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| Back down on the road we found this tiny shrine to cigarettes |
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| This is a view looking up the snow monkey park valley - not sure of this was general service work or repairs to infrastructure after the recent typhoon damage. The area smells strongly of sulphur - steam oozes from vents in the hillsides and - as seen here, the side of the river. |
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| Scenic path leading up to the monkey park. In November it was an easy walk from the car park - but it would be tough in winter, under snow. |
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| Tin shed on the path to the snow monkey park (HDR shot processed using Aurora HDR) |
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| The track through the mountains is heavily wooded with spruce trees |
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| A curious strangler vine of some sort in an otherwise pristine forest |
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| There were no monkeys at the park - we had been told this in Yudanaka and in Nagano, plus you can check activity using the live monkey cam (http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam2/video_en.php). As we were waiting in the car park for a taxi when a large male appeared out of nowhere and poked around in the area for a few minutes before disappearing back into the forest again |
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