I headed out early this morning to go pick A up at the train station, Naganohara- Kusatsuguchi, at 9 am on our way to Nagano and Jigokudani Monkey Park! It’s about a 1.5 hour drive from me there. The drive was stunning. Gunma is really picturesque with the snowy mountainous backdrop and farms. Sadly since there hasn’t been any snow, everything was really clear. Good for driving at least. While A and I were still in the station, the station attendant warned us the bus leaving. I somehow managed to convey that we were here by car. So courteous.

We headed off on the second leg of the journey that should take us about 1.5 hours. The first part took us right past Kusatsu - the best onsen town in all of Japan. We’ll come back here tomorrow for the second part of the three-day weekend. We have Monday off because it’s Coming of Age Day where Japanese children, who have reached the age of majority at twenty, have a big ceremony. We got right by a ski slope when a sign written in English and Japanese forbids cars from driving further. We parked in the skiing lot and asked the attendants in broken Japanese. He told us it’s only open to a shuttle bus. We backtracked and tried google’s route #2. It took us 30 minutes to get to this point so one hour driving wasted.

After backtracking, it was another 20 minutes before we hit a toll gate. We stopped to take some scenic photos along the way, A was snapping pictures out the window the whole time. Very pretty especially with Mt. Asama getting closer. At the toll gate, he asks us where we’re going - presumably to figure out how much we have to pay. When I told him Jigokudani, he shook his head and told us no. We pulled into a parking lot and walked over where the other toll guy brought out a map and showed us where to go. We have to take google option #3, a route that takes an extra 30 minutes from the station. The other guy spoke enough English to tell us road closed for winter. (Later I checked online and it appears the connecting bit of 292 is closed from late spring till Nov - don’t make the same mistake as us. You can’t get from Kusatsu to Shiga-Kogen area.)

We turned around once more. We’ve lost 1 hour and 40 minutes at this point, but we were on the right route now with 1.5 hr eta driving time. It took us right past Sugadairakogen ski area, up in the mountains. We actually started seeing some snow on the road. Driving with snow tires was interesting. I could definitely feel them grip the road more. No sliding at all. I took all the corners slowly. Looking back at the GPS trail, it doesn’t even fully convey the curviness. We pulled over at one point to get more photos. I jumped into the field of snow, stumbled in a ditch and got part of my pants covered. Ahhh, snow!

At the end, we took a short bit on the toll road. I’m so sick of driving, I’m okay with paying the exuberant prices. We stop to eat at a ramen restaurant. There’s actually a wait so it must mean good ramen! I managed to write my name on the list in katakana, whoop. They even brought us a menu translated into English! Oh, the benefits of being close to a tourist spot. The ramen was amazing and I’m not a big ramen person. The best I’ve had yet in Japan.

Then we headed on to our final destination, Yudanaka Onsen, in Yamanouchi, Nagano. We drove around in circles on narrow roads for a bit trying to find our ryokan, but it was a bit confusing since the roads were small and buildings close together. We decided to investigate on foot first. We parked in a random lot and walked around. We had about two hours before check in to explore the town. We tried to stop by a visitor center and get a map, but it was closed so we just wandered. First, checked out a shrine and climbed the hill behind it to see huge boulders that were sealing in an evil spirit. It had the rope around it, shimenawa, and was really cool to see!

We also stopped by another shrine that had the source running through the temizuya, water pavilion where you wash your hands and mouth, and by this Buddha statue you could also wash. There was a free foot bath too, but we didn’t have towels with and it was too cold. The town was filled with older buildings and public bath houses. We checked out another temple with a huge Kannon statue and climbed a steep hill with amazing views. We took a walking path back through the forest and A made sure to ring all the bells along the way. Later, with the help of google translate, we realized they were called peace bells and supposed to bring peace. On the way back to the car, we passed by a shop that handed us a map and told us about a lantern festival that started later. Yay, map!

We carefully followed the streets to the vicinity of our hotel. I pulled into a parking lot to check the map, when a woman came towards us. She asked about me by last name, had us get out and give our luggage to her, and the keys to the other guy. The man parked my car for me, and she carried our things into the lobby. We removed our shoes at the entrance. She was the English speaking staff member. The others knew a couple words, but we tried to reply in Japanese to them. A was really excited about everything and the staff loved her. During check in, we got to select our private bath time in their outdoor bath - onsen as well as see the public schedules when men or women could enter. The indoor one was open 24/7. We also selected whether we wanted breakfast at 7:30 or 8 am. She would give us a room call then. She showed us to the room, and served us tea. It was salty, broth-like tea. I don’t remember the name. She brought me an extra yukata in a longer size hah.

The hotel had a lovely, traditional decor. Our room had an entrance area with mini fridge, tea maker, sink, and toilet with toilet slippers. Beyond the sliding door, we had a large room with a low table and floor chairs with huge cushions. Two snacks awaited us, an onsen manju (sweet bun) and something else.The heater was running nicely. In one of the closets were our yukata - socks with the toe separate for geta, yukata, sash, over-robe, a bag with toiletries. A decided to go in the first women bathing time slot, so I hung out in the room.

When we went to leave, we let them know so they could set out the futons for us. A and I went back to the store which gave us the map and got mulled apple juice there. It was fresh, local apple juice. Nagano, especially this area, is famous for all its apple orchards. It warmed us up while we set out to make our free lanterns. We got to decorate a sheet of wax paper that we put in a lantern. The woman there attached it to a bamboo stick and we set off into the streets to deliver to the end destination. Outside, we were stopped by a lovely lady asking to do a survey. Her English was so good! She had studied to become an English teacher for JHS, but changed her mind. Amongst the survey, we bonded over Glee and Bones. She even gave us beautiful, free postcards as a thank you.

At this point, we were running out of time to get back to the ryokan for our private onsen time between 8-8:30. We hurried to drop off our lanterns on the shelving around a foot bath. The light reflected off the water. It was a wonderful light. Then we rushed back. A stopped at the shop to buy some souvenirs, and I popped by Lawson’s - a convenience store - for a small dinner (still full from ramen!). We both luckily made it back just in time. The futons were out in the room, looking quite inviting. I put on my pink yukata and went to take some rare photos of the bathing area. It was really cold outside and the water felt great. I love the feeling of warmth and cozyness post-bath. It makes your skin feel amazing too. The bathing area was really beautiful with a little waterfall and all the rocks. You could look up at the stars too. After returning to the room, I ate my dinner, and we went promptly to sleep in our yukata. The futon layers were warm and comfortable.