We arrived in this snowy little Japanese hot spring town and promptly got stuck. Thankfully the men were able to push us out.
Working hard...
When we finally arrived we had a 1.6km hike up the mountain to where the snow monkeys were, and the walk was absolutely beautiful. One of the highlights of the day.
steam from a hot spring
Audrey was not impressed
When we reached the park, the monkeys are literally right next to you. There are no enclosures or cages, this is their natural habitat. They are not scared of humans, but can become aggressive if food is near. They love to chill in the natural hot springs of this area.
Very fun to observe
It was a long drive up here, so I was so glad we decided to go to Matsumoto castle as well while we were in this part of Japan. This samurai castle was built over 400 years ago. It is known as the black castle, so it could not be seen at night very well. The samurai inhabited the second floor and the war lord the top. There were many tiny windows for archery and later gunfire. The kids LOVED it.
Matsumoto castle
Ready to go
Entering the grounds
It was very dark inside, so it made taking pictures tough. Here is one of all the children checking out the view.
Suzanne and I
Family
So glad we included this in our day, it was an amazing place.
looks like an awesome day! hot spring monkeys especially :).
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