#14 skiing in japan
Absolute bucket list item ticked off and WHAT an experience.
Where else in the world can you ski, soak in an onsen and see wild snow monkeys, all in the same place?
This was such an incredible way to experience Japanese culture outside of the typical tourist experiences in Tokyo and Kyoto. We chose to ski in Nagano, in the Japanese alps, rather than Hokkaido as I had heard it is less international and commercialized, which ended up absolutely being the case. Staying in a family-run ryokan, we experienced little personal touches like lending us snow boots, being given a lift in the family car, and being gifted a congratulations cake for our wedding, and settled into the slower pace of onsen towns.
We chose Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen for its historical style, proximity to Shiga Kogen skiing area, and easy access to the snow monkeys. Nagano is an easy journey from Tokyo, then switches to little local trains to get to the mountain onsen towns, with Yudanaka onsen right at the end of the line. The journey includes some beautiful scenery, passing Mount Fuji on the way out of Tokyo, then giving way to forests, snow, and tiny towns as it winds into the mountains.
Yudanaka and Shibu onsen are closely linked and both are small. They are full of traditional ryokan, family run businesses, and honestly not much else - in the best way. It feels like stepping into Spirited Away, with people walking through the town in yukata on their way to the onsens and historic buildings (allegedly some of Studio Ghibli’s inspiration for the bathhouse in the film).
Admittedly Yudanaka is a little dated and was hit hard by Covid travel restrictions, and if you’re looking for nightlife this is not the place for you. But the quiet was perfect for us and there is plenty to do if you are skiing nearby.
Yudanaka is known as ‘snow monkey village’ as it’s the station for those heading to see the wild monkeys bathing in hot springs. Lots of people do this as a day trip, but I absolutely think it’s worth staying if you can. You are also more likely to see the monkeys in the morning, as they avoid the hot springs as the temperature warms up during the day.
Once you arrive in Yudanaka, it’s easy to get to the Jigokudani park by bus. From there it’s a short hike on a snowy path through the woods to get to the hot springs which are higher up the mountain. Snow boots are definitely required for this path!
The monkeys here are apparently completely wild except for being fed regularly by staff. The park is a protected area which was created in the 20th century, although wild Japanese macaques have been in the region for much longer. Allegedly, as the ski resorts grew, the monkeys’ natural habitat was threatened and they congregated in this area, where they were able to thrive due to the volume of nearby farms. They are completely unafraid of humans and unbothered by tourists taking photos, and wander around between the hills and the hot springs. I’m not sure how they learned to use the hot springs in the winter in the first place, but it’s a totally unique sight to this part of the world in the winter.
I’ve read mixed things online about the treatment of the monkeys but we didn’t see anything negative during our time there.
While we were based in the onsen towns, most of our days were spent skiing in the nearby Shiga Kogen park. It’s 18 linked resorts across mountains connected by chairlifts and ski runs and amazingly was not crowded at all. The area is popular with Australian and Chinese tourists but mostly appeared to cater to locals, as many international visitors choose Hokkaido instead for its powder skiing or other parts of the alps like Hakuba for a more lively nightlife and apres ski scene. As a result, some of the facilities here are due a refresh; Nagano hosted the 1998 winter Olympics and many of the lifts, accommodation, and restaurants were developed at that time and have seen limited investment since. There were a few exceptions to this like the new lift and restaurant area at Higashiyama (pictured) which were great, and this is hopefully a sign of more to come.
Conditions were great and the slopes were quiet and well maintained throughout our time here, and we only ran into bigger groups on weekend afternoons (good news for me; as much as I love to ski I am not very good at it so the more space the better).
We were also lucky enough to witness the ‘sea of clouds’ on some of our skiing days.
I loved the time we spent here and the chance to experience rural Japanese winter living. We deliberately avoided some more popular areas and I’m glad we did as it made for a quieter break after being on the road for a while. It really felt like being a world away and gave us a totally different experience of Japan compared to our first trip several years ago. I genuinely can’t wait to return and explore even more of this wonderful country.
