I'm back from my frosty winter holiday; with blue-blacked legs and terribly achy shoulders... And for once I actually appreciate the weather we have here in Singapore... :P It was refreshing visiting smaller towns nestled in the mountainous central part of Japan; though we eventually still ended up in the hustle and bustle of Kyoto/Tokyo, jostling with new year crowds in temples and shrines. And I made a not unexpected discovery that my spoken Japanese really isn't quite there yet hehe. It was also my first time going into public baths... :P Fatigue and cold-weariness towards end of trip aside, I enjoyed myself very much... Here are some trip highlights, in chronological order, from the four main places I visited -- Yudanaka, Takayama, Kyoto and Tokyo (more like a stopover destination):
Enjoying a snowy sunset amidst a lovely winterscape after a day of skiing; just before our sunset onsen bath in Yudanaka, Nagano Prefecture. (My glove-less fingers were almost frozen though :P)
Sake with tenzaru soba for dinner the same day. Kanpai!!!
In the middle of our supposedly 20 min morning hike to the Jidokudani Monkey Park... hehe, prob took us something like 40 min...
The snowy trees in the hills were a magnificent sight to behold...
Truly a winter wonderland... :)
One of my many many snow monkey pictures that actually turned out decent :)
Erm, snow monkeys getting steamy in the onsen.... ;P
Street food in Takayama-- Nigiri sushi with hida beef on a piece of rice cracker... The sauce created a pretty bloody illusion :P
Breakfast with teddy bears in a teddy bear cafe some 5-min walk from our accommo in Takayama...
Kinkakuji (or Golden Pavilion Temple) - Kyoto
Neatly lined pails I chanced upon in Ryoan-ji, a Zen temple in Kyoto.
A beautiful sunset at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto.
The beginning of thousands of torii gates snaking into the mountains at Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto.
New year deco and swarms of people along shops leading to the Asakusa Temple, Tokyo.