After we left Fukushima, we headed to the Japanese mountains. On the way, we stopped off at a Japanese calligraphy and tea ceremony museum. We learned about famous calligraphers from Japan’s history as well as modern calligraphers. My favorite part was the Japanese tea ceremony. I am a tea connoisseur and I have always wanted to try Japanese tea and engage in a tea ceremony. Of course I have been drinking tea all week, but it has always been prepared by me. This was the first time I had tried matcha green tea, traditionally prepared and it was honestly the best tea I’ve ever had. I was only given a small serving and sadly their tea wasn’t for sale.

We continued our journey to Inner Nikko on the foothills of the Japanese Alps. At Nikko, we went snowshoeing on the ski slopes and hills behind it. This was the first time I had been snowshoeing and it was really fun! Our guide took us into the woods and we hiked for several hours above four feet of snow. One of the more troubling things that I observed during this hike was the effects of climate change on the landscape and environment.

One example of this is the Japanese mountain goats. These goats only live in the mountaintops but as temperatures are rising, the goats have had to come down and their grazing can be seen throughout the base of the mountain. This lowers the available food for other grazers, sending ripple effects throughout the food web. This area of Japan has also seen only a third of the predicted snowfall that was expected this winter, another concerning fact. During our hike, we came upon a shrine that our guide said he rediscovered this year after more than ten years of it being buried under the snow.

After Nikko, we continued further into the Japanese Alps until we stopped at Shibu. At Shibu we went to the Snow Monkey Village. If you’ve ever seen a documentary in which monkeys are in the mountains in Japan in hot springs it came from one tribe of Japanese Macaques in the Japanese Alps.

Although Japanese Macaques are very common throughout the mountains of Japan, there is only one troop that uses hot springs. This troop has over 160 monkeys with another fifty banished in the surrounding woods, forming mini troops. This troop is slightly above average but their use of the hot springs is what makes them special. The troop only started using them in the 1960’s but since then their numbers have grown significantly since the hot water allows them to survive the winter. The Japanese Macaques are also the most northernmost living primate on Earth (besides humans).

My next post will be my final night in Tokyo and future trips.