Directions to Jigokudani (Part 2)

(Note: Part One Directions can be found here.) Once off the bus (at the gas station), walk down the main street to the first intersection going to the right and start walking up the street. (Top image above, with Roman Museum on the right. I took this photo from the return bus stop.) The road winds around to eventually arrive at the start of the trail to Jigokudani. There are a number of signs along the route.

Finally, the famed Monkey Park, described earlier.

To return, retrace your steps back to the main highway. There was a little problem for us, because we had neglected to find out how often buses ran back to Yudanaka. So we waited at the bus stop for about 45 minutes before a bus appeared in the intersection across the street. We waved and shouted, the bus driver waited for us and we got on for the trip back to Yudanaka station. Personally, I think that walking back to the station would be much too far and uncomfortable, with all that traffic whizzing by.

We had bought some food for breakfast, but not for lunch, which we should have done. Luckily we had both brought granola bars which sustained us until our return to Matsumoto, and our dinner at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, with Mexican music in the background.

Photos: Highway & Road to Monkey Park—Japan, 2008; Trail Entrance—Japan, 2008; Entrance to Monkey Park—Japan, 2008