We are now one month on from the typhoon which affected Nagano and it’s a good time to provide an update. While Nagano City was relatively unaffected, areas nearby experienced a significant impact and damage. This included the Snow Monkey Park which closed for several days are the typhoon came through.
As we reported on October 15th, the park reopened to the public quickly and not long after, the monkeys returned from the mountains to resume their routine of visiting the park. While the park is now open, repairs to some areas are still underway.
Most significantly, the typhoon damaged the water source and pipe, which fills the hot spring with natural thermal water. In order to resolve this the pool was drained around the start of November and remained bare of water for several days while park staff worked to restore water. We are happy to report that this was completed on November 6th and the ‘onsen’ is once again full – a fact that the monkeys are very happy about!
The next stage of repairs will address damage to the stairs leading down to the river and the short set of stairs that allow guests access below the hot spring. While we can’t provide a definitive date by which this will be completed, park staff are working to resolve this as quickly as possible with another busy winter season just around the corner.
While it’s been a difficult month in Nagano – and many lives remain affected in some areas – things are now back to normal with the final repairs to the monkey park underway. Our tours operate every day of the year. It’s business as usual for us here in Nagano!
We hope to see you here soon!
