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The common complaint about Japanese ski resorts being too small certainly doesn't apply to mammoth SHIGA KOGEN , a collection of 22 resorts strung out along the Shiga plateau within the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, 20km northeast of Nagano. Between mid-December and late April, there's usually good snow here, and the huge variety of terrain makes the one-day Y4900 lift pass, covering all 22 resorts, great value. You'll find it impossible to ski the whole area in a day, so the best plan of action is to head for northern end of the mountain range to the resorts at Okushiga and Yakebitai-yama , where the slalom events of the 1998 Olympics were held. The closest train station to Shiga is Yudanaka - the ski resorts are a thirty-minute bus ride away from here. During the season, there are direct buses operated by Nagano Dentetsu from the east exit of Nagano Station (Y1800). The best place to stay in Okushiga is the comfortable, Western-style Okushiga Kogen Hotel (tel 0269/34-2034, fax 34-2827; Y10,000-40,000); in Yakebitai you'll find the Shiga Kogen Prince Hotel (tel 0269/34-3111, fax 34-3123; Y15,000-40,000), offering bland but reliably high-standard accommodation. For more advice on lodging, try the Shiga Tourism Association (9am-5pm; tel 0269/34-2404), where some English is spoken. On the western fringe of the national park is the village of YUDANAKA ONSEN , which has a well-groomed and quiet ski resort, Gorin Kogen, but is more famous for the snow monkeys who bathe in a rotemburo at the nearby Jigokudani, or "Hell's Valley". Some two hundred Japanese long-tailed monkeys ( Nihon-zaru ) live in this area and they started to dip into the hot pools during the 1960s, when a local ryokan owner took pity on them and left food out in winter. The apes, dubbed snow monkeys by Life magazine, eventually had their own rotemburo built for them in a Monkey Park (daily 8am-5pm; Y360). On winter mornings you can usually see them wallowing around the pool. Be warned, though, that despite the amusing scene the smell of droppings mingling with the sulphur in the water is less than pleasant. Winter is also the main mating season, so there's likely to be some simian hanky-panky going on around the rotemburo . Yudanaka is the terminus for the Nagano Dentetsu train line from Nagano, forty minutes away by express train, and one hour by local train. From the station, it's a fifteen-minute bus journey to Kanbayashi Onsen. To reach the monkey pool, walk uphill from the bus stop until you find a sign for a trail leading through the woods for around 2km. On the way you'll pass the Korakukan (tel 0269/33-4376, fax 33-3244; Y15,000-20,000), a small ryokan offering basic Japanese-style accommodation, with rates that include two meals. There are plenty more ryokan and minshuku in Yudanaka Onsen, one of the most convenient being the Japanese Inn Group member Uotoshi Ryokan (tel 0269/33-1215, fax 33-0074; Y7000-10,000), seven minutes' walk from the station, across the Yomase-gawa. The owner is an expert in traditional archery ( kyudo ) and is happy to demonstrate his skills if asked. Also worth checking out is the traditional Kameya Ryokan (tel 0259/33-3585, fax 33-3587; Y15,000-20,000), five minutes by bus from the station in nearby Shibu Onsen. This inn has lovely tatami rooms and its rates include two delicious meals.
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