What do you get when you combine the following
elements: natural hot springs, a
picturesque mountain forest blanketed in clean white snow, and wild Japanese
macaques (snow monkeys)? Answer: You get the single coolest day of my Japan
trip.
Around a decade ago, I saw a film called
Baraka.
Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s
done in a style that’s usually called “pure cinema” – meaning there are no
characters, no plot, no storyline or narration.
Instead, themes are explored through the use of vivid imagery
accompanied by music. That’s it. Anyway,
Baraka
opens up with a very memorable scene of red-faced primates relaxing (there’s no
other word to describe it) in a steaming pool of water surrounded by snow. The scene is very surreal. The camera zeros in on a monkey’s face as he
closes his eyes and exhales – an uncannily human-like expression of contentment
that I found unforgettable. (See a clip
here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG9P7JWtxhw)
This short scene impressed me deeply at the time, for
reasons I can’t fully articulate. I had
never seen images of primates in such surroundings– I was accustomed to seeing
them in tropical environments, the jungles of the Amazon or Indonesia, the
African bush, etc. But surrounded by
snow? That was different. It was easy enough for me to discover that
these scenes were filmed at a very specific location in Japan, where a certain
population of macaques (the northernmost dwelling primate on Earth, except for
humans) is known to frequent a certain hot spring year-round. When I began planning my itinerary for Japan,
this information came back to me, and I decided that this was a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see with my own eyes a beguiling scene that
had lodged itself so firmly in my memory years before.
And so it was that on the day after I visited Hiroshima, I
found myself on a rather lengthy train ride to Yudanaka. Due to the remoteness of the so-called monkey
hot springs, this was probably the most ambitious destination of my Japan
itinerary. As well-known as the snow
monkeys are, this place is a bit removed from the well-beaten tourist
path. Many of the people who visit
Nagano Prefecture do so for the skiing, not for the monkeys. Yudanaka
is therefore not the most easy-to-get-to place.
I had to take a Shinkansen train from Toyohashi to Nagoya, then transfer
to the Shinano line bound for Nagano (host of the 1998 winter Olympics). About 30 minutes before reaching Nagano, the
train came out of a tunnel and I was treated to a spectacular view of the city
nestled in a snowy valley enclosed by the towering Japanese Alps. Nice. Once
in Nagano, I had to catch a slow local train (not covered by my rail pass) to
Yudanaka Onsen, a small, remote hot spring town near the monkeys.
I immediately set out in search of my accommodation. As I walked along the road, I noticed the
sound of rushing water. There were
gutters on either side of the street that had natural hot spring water flowing
through them. It also came pouring out
of spouts located at seemingly random spots along the road, generating plumes
of steam everywhere. After a short walk,
I found the place I was looking for. I
had booked a room at Shimaya Ryokan – a traditional Japanese inn. When I arrived, I was greeted by the
energetic, animated owner, Ichiro-san Yumoto.
He bombarded me with questions about where I’m from, where I’ve been in
Japan, where else I plan to go. He
informed me that, though I had requested accommodation in the male dorm,
another guest had requested to rent out the entire dorm for his group. I therefore got bumped up to a private room
at no additional cost. I love when
things just happen to work out in my favor like this.
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My private room at Shimaya Ryokan |
My room was beautiful and cozy -- a tatami-matted floor, a low table with a tea
set, and a paper-partition sliding door concealing a sort of “breakfast nook”
and a balcony. After taking a quick look
around, I dropped my luggage on the mattress and headed back downstairs to the
lobby.
One of the reasons I had chosen to stay at this place, other
than for the traditional ryokan experience, was because Mr. Yumoto offered a
free shuttle to the monkey park – which otherwise would’ve been much more
difficult to reach by way of public buses.
We hopped in his van, just the two of us, and he drove me through
Yudanaka and the adjacent Shibu Onsen (pointing out various places of interest
along the way) before eventually turning up a steep mountain road. Before long, we came to a massive sign
reading “Jigokudani Yaen Koen.” This was
the entrance to the monkey hot spring.
It’s not possible to drive all the way up to the spot where the monkeys
are, so I had the pleasure of walking 1.6 km on a pretty forest path in the
light of a fading afternoon.
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Wild macaque sighting! |
As I neared the onsen, I started spotting monkeys from a
distance. They were numerous, dotting
the hillside, the river bank, and the trail ahead. I couldn’t believe how many there were. Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me and
turned to see a macaque scurrying toward me on the rail that ran along this
part of the trail. I stood still and
held my breath as he got nearer. He
paused briefly by my side and graciously allowed me to snap a quick photo
before continuing on his way. This was
my first personal encounter with a wild primate – an item checked off my bucket
list.
It’s a rare experience in life to have something that you’ve
subconsciously treated with so much anticipation to actually exceed
expectations. But this was one of those
times. The hot spring, while small,
looked every bit as striking and picturesque as I remembered from the scene in Baraka.
Steam rose from the surface; snow fell softly all around; the monkeys
lounged languid and idle in their soak. There
were no barriers, nothing to prevent me from getting up close and personal with
them. They generally ignored me and the
small number of other humans that were around, going about their business of
bathing, playing, foraging for food, posturing and screaming at each other. There were intimidating big ones. There were adorable babies. They ran wildly around chasing each other,
brushing against my legs in the process.
It was truly an amazing and unique experience.
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A rare sight: wild Japanese macaques soaking in a natural onsen. |
Not even in a zoo have I ever been able to observe primates
at such close proximity. I was
transfixed by their dexterous hands, their human-like facial expressions. I began to discern distinct
personalities. This one is bold and
mischievous; this one is timid and demure; this one is aggressive and short-tempered,
an alpha male perhaps. I can’t begin to
describe my level of fascination as I walked among them, studying their
behavior, taking their pictures. The
word “surreal” is insufficient.
I’m not sure how long I stayed there – at least an
hour. Maybe two. It started to grow dark, and I had to reluctantly
return to the trailhead to meet Mr. Yumoto for my ride back into town. As we pulled up to the ryokan some time
later, Mr. Yumoto turned to me with a proposition. “Soon, I will drive two guests to Tominoyu
roten-buro. It is outdoor hot spring
bath with nice view. Old Japanese
tradition, very relaxing. Will you go?”
Sure. Why not.
The two other guests accompanying me to the roten-buro were ethnic
Japanese guys from New Zealand. Those of
you who know me personally undoubtedly also know that I’ve had a small
obsession with NZ ever since I studied there in 2006. So I had plenty to talk with them about on
the 6 km drive. (“You lived in Dunedin? Must’ve been cold.” “Why is that always the first thing people
mention when Dunedin comes up?”) Once we
arrive at the roten-buro, we put money into a ticket-machine (600 yen) and
selected what kind of experience we wanted.
We could choose between a public bath or, for quadruple the cost, a
private bath. I opted for the public, as
did my kiwi Japanese companions. I
entered the locker room alone as they hung back to smoke cigarettes in the
waiting area.
I walked into a locker room filled with stark naked Japanese
guys amicably laughing and chatting with each other as they dressed. They were young – close to my own age, as far
as I could tell. They gave me curious
looks as I entered, apparently unaccustomed to seeing a foreigner here. It was a little odd at first. In the West, we still tend to view nudity as
a private, even shameful thing – a relic notion left over from the Victorian age,
or maybe it comes from our Puritanical roots – who knows? Typically, western men are especially
insecure and awkward with their nakedness in the presence of other males. But these Japanese guys, on the other hand,
seemed so comfortable joking with
each other with their dangly bits hanging out to air dry. No shame.
No insecurity. And why should
there be? Really, none of us had
anything that the others hadn’t seen before.
It was actually kind of refreshing how free they were in their
nakedness.
I quickly stripped down and strode unclad into the adjacent
washroom. It was empty. Along the opposite wall there was a row of removable
shower heads, mirrors, a low shelf with soap and shampoo, and several plastic stools. To the right was a small sauna room. To the left was the door leading out to the
onsen. Fortunately, I knew what to do
because Mr. Yumoto had given me a quick run-down of the routine and told me how to
observe proper onsen etiquette. I sat on
one of the stools, washed, and rinsed thoroughly – it’s supposedly unacceptable
to enter an onsen while dirty or with traces of soap on your body.
The next step was to enter the sauna, which was also
empty. Beside the door there was a small
hourglass fixed to the wall. The idea is
that you’re supposed to turn the hourglass over when you enter, then exit the
sauna once it’s run its course. I
spread out my small towel on the lowest bench (another etiquette thing) and lay
down. After becoming adjusted to the
heat, I rose to a sitting position and moved to the top bench, where the heat
is more intense. I couldn’t have been in
the sauna for more than 5 or 10 minutes, but it was long enough for my body to
go from wet to dry to sweating.
After the intense heat of the sauna, the cooler air of the
washroom felt very refreshing. By this
time, my new kiwi Japanese friends were there going through their shower
routine. The next step for me was to
rinse off the sauna sweat with cold water.
I wasn’t too enthused about the cold water part, but Mr. Yumoto insisted
that using cold water has therapeutic and health benefits, so I just gritted my
teeth and got it over with as quickly as possible.
Stepping through the doorway into the freezing night sucked
the air right out of my lungs. This loss
of breath was augmented by the breath-taking view of the twinkling lights of
Yudanaka, which could be seen in the valley below from the onsen’s prominent
perch on the mountainside. The bath was
dimly lit and quite large, made to look very nature-y with roughly-hewn stones,
landscaping, and a waterfall. Snow lay
all around. The heat of the pool fought
an elemental battle with the frigid air, producing huge wafts of steam that
swayed and danced fiercely in the breeze.
There were two men in the pool already – an elderly man
submerged chest-deep at the far end, and a young man sitting on the near edge
with just his legs dangling in the water.
Neither gave me more than a passing glance as I walked over to a more
secluded part of the pool.
At first, the water was excruciatingly hot. It was almost intolerable. I had to ease myself in very slowly, and even
then it took a while before it became bearable.
Shortly after I entered the pool, the other two bathers left and
returned to the shower room. This
allowed me several precious minutes of alone time with the steam and the
beautiful view. I closed my eyes and let
the onsen take its effect on my body and mind.
I paid attention to the sound of the wind, the gurgling of the
waterfall, the occasional giggles and snippets of hushed conversation coming from the other side of a tall wooden
fence where the female bath was located.
I understood why the Japanese had been doing this for centuries – I
can’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed and at peace. I was so absorbed that I hadn’t even notice
that the kiwi travelers had exited the washroom and slipped wordlessly into the
other end of the pool.
As relaxing as the experience was, the temperature of the
water was still just a tad too hot for my taste. I found it was best to try to remain as still
as possible – movement seemed to magnify the heat. After a while, I raised myself half-way out
of the water. The breeze, which had
earlier felt so uncomfortably cold, now felt incredibly good. I sat that way for a while – my lower half
submerged in the hot water, my torso and head exposed to the freezing air. It began to snow, completing the perfect
picture. In this position, I couldn’t
actually feel just how cold that cold breeze really was – it was quite a
surprise when I went to run my hand through my hair and discovered that my hair
had frozen into icicles.
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Tominoyu roten-buro, with a nighttime view of Yudanaka |
I soaked in the bath for around 45 minutes before I climbed
out and went inside. I bypassed the
washroom this time – you’re supposed to let the nutrients and minerals of the
hot spring water to dry on your skin.
While I was dressing, my two kiwi Japanese companions exited the bath as
well. I took advantage of the onsen
being empty to run back out with my camera and snap a photo. I’m not sure if this was a breach of the
rules of etiquette or not. But I’m glad
I was able to capture the scene.
Once exiting the locker room, you’re supposed to sit and relax
for a while in a post-bath waiting room.
The waiting room at this onsen facility provided us with drinks (for
rehydration) and electric massage chairs.
I sat in one of these chairs with a cup of tea and my ipod, listened to
some Sigur Ros, and was lulled into a pleasantly sleepy stupor while waiting
for Mr. Yumoto to come pick us up.
One more blog post to go in the Japan Saga series. Stay tuned. It'll be up on the site later this week!