December 2022
Nagano


Nagano City (長野) is the capital of Nagano Prefecture. It evolved as a temple town around Zenkoji, one of Japan's most popular temples. In 1998, the city hosted the Winter Olympic Games, and some former olympic facilities can still be viewed around town.
Niigata Prefecture (新潟県, Niigata-ken) is located along the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chubu Region. It is famous for its high quality rice, beautiful coastal and mountainous sceneries, spectacular firework displays in summer, skiing in winter and hot spring bathing around the year. The prefectural capital is Niigata City.


The Monkey Park was established in 1964 and if you want to see the macaques bathe in the hot springs while everything around them is covered in snow, you should visit between December and March. January and February are most likely to see the spectacle in the snowstorm.
















Niigata Prefecture is renowned in Japan as the best area for growing rice and fermenting sake due to its deep snow and abundance of soft clear pure water.
Nagano
Adventure on the roof of Japan with snow and rice