Trip to Jigokudani monkey park
Interestingly, there was no snow anywhere in December. But when you start approaching the monkey park, it’s like you’re in some kind of enchanted land. Out of nowhere, clouds roll in and snow begins to fall. Just get out!
In Matsumoto, where we stopped the day before, it was below zero, but dry. It hasn't snowed yet:
Nagano is an interesting prefecture for tourism. Here you can find harsh mountains and your own special microclimate, I would say continental. While Tokyo has a subtropical climate, Nagano, just a few hours away, is much colder. And if it snows, then be healthy. It is in Nagano that the famous Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is located: a tunnel cut through many meters of snow.
But for such miracles you can climb the mountains in January-February, during the snowiest months. In the meantime, everything looks like this - the mountains are slightly dusted with snow:
Somewhere there, behind these mountains, are the hot springs of Jigokudani Monkey Park.
When we had already passed the city of Nagano itself, snow began to appear a little on the streets. At the end of December, only the last ten kilometers of the road to the monkey park were snowy. The further you go, the more snow there is.
By the way, if you have a Russian license, you won’t be able to rent a car in Japan. You will have to go by train/bus or take a tour.
Here we are! Here it seems that you are simply in a different climate zone. How so? Where do such rubble come from?
