| There are currently 1821 Journals online (not including additional comments). |
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The latest 15 journals are shown on this page. To view other journals from September 2010, click on the links below.
To view journals from other months, click on the links at the bottom of the page. |
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PLEASE NOTE: This season, we have opened
a TRIP
REPORTS section on the new Forums.
You are still welcome to post new
Journals here, but many new Trip Reports
are now being posted on either the
SNOW
TALK section of the TRIP
REPORTS sections of the Forums.
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Latest 3 Journals
POSTED BY:
ShigaKogen
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POSTED DATE :
28th January 2009
13:01 PM |
VISITED ON :
30th December 2008 |
Snow Monkey Park
Few days ago I decided to visit the Jigokudani Yaen Koen also known as Snow Monkey Park.
Since I'm in Shiga Kogen, it's just a 30 min. bus ride to the park.
I heard about Snow Monkeys a lot before, but this visit surprised me.
Getting off the bus, you are not delivered straight to the monkey onsen - you have to walk first.
It's about 30 min walking through the Valley of Yokoyu-River, enjoying the beauty of the nature and trying to meet inhabitants such as rabbits, foxes and, of course, monkeys.
After this walk through the valley, you finally can meet the monkeys. I heard that sometimes they just don't appear - but the day I was there, lots of monkeys were bathing in the big private hot spring.
Private to the monkeys, because it is said that those monkeys start to enter in outdoor onsens so local people just decided to build onsens especially for the monkeys. If you are lucky, you may be able to watch the monkeys at feeding time!
I couldn't imagine how close they are all the time. The monkeys have gotten used to humans and are around us everywhere.
After my visit to the park, my Japanese friend told me next time I should try a traditional Japanese sweet called chimaki, made of rice, wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed. She said you can eat it in the ryokan, the traditional Japanese-style hotel, even if you are just visiting the park and that chimaki is the best of the neighborhood! Can't wait for my next visit!!!
PS: If you are coming to visit this park during the winter, don't forget to wear very comfortable and warm waterproof shoes. The trail used to be covered by snow for about 4 months a year. |
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POSTED BY:
ShigaKogen
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RESORT:
Shiga Kogen (ALL AREAS)
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Nagano |
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POSTED DATE :
28th January 2009
12:18 PM |
VISITED ON :
20th January 0000 |
WHAT TO DO IN A SKI RESORT IF YOU DON'T SKI?
By Meg Yamagute | Saturday, Jan 24, 2009
Well, as a Brazilian living in Japan, it's not surprising if I tell you that I don't ski or snowboard. That's why I thought that snowshoe hiking could be the best alternative to enjoy one day in the middle of the snow. In the end of the day, I was sure about it!
Before we start, at 10 in the morning, I was almost given up hiking because the day was cloudy and I thought this hiking thing would just be beautiful in a sunny day. I couldn't be more wrong!
The beauty of the snow, the snowy trees and the white sky in the background were amazing! And the fog coming and going, showing a little more of the local nature from time to time was magical! And snowshoe hiking it't not just about walk and contemplate, at least not where I was hiking, in Shiga Kogen, about 3 hours from Tokyo, in Nagano Ken. Since I don't have snowshoes or anything, I decide to hike with the local guides and they hire snowshoes and poles, and showed me all the beauty hidden in the summit of Higashitateyama, a mountain 2.000 m above sea level. With those genki women, we found footprints, I could smell Christmas trees, learned about local nature and tradition, slide down the mountains and could even taste the flavor of the nature - but there are some details that I believe it's just better to discover by yourself. All I can tell you it's worth, even on a cloudy day!
Jan 20, 2009. |
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POSTED BY:
gnarly-dude
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RESORT:
Kagura
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Niigata |
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POSTED DATE :
5th January 2009
14:27 PM |
VISITED ON :
0th December 2008 |
Spent a few days at Kagura in Niigata prefecture. It was the first time of the season after waiting for the snow to arrive for so long.
Got there for the first ropeway on a very fine morning on the first day and was treated to some really good snow conditions. Not that much though, I was surprised at how relatively little there was... it's definitely less than usual for the time of year. It had snowed the night before though so the snow we did get to play in was pretty good.
Will be back, hopefully after a few major snow dumps. |
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