Ah, yes: the monkey onsen. We would be remiss if we didn’t include a photo of the hot springs populated entirely by monkeys rather than humans. I wouldn’t recommend attempting to join them, though: monkeys can be quite territorial and their bite can be both painful and rabies-inducing.

Initially we detoured to pass directly through these fields of rape blossoms (na-no-hana in Japanese). grown for the oil used in cosmetics. At one point we came across a whole row of artists with paints and easels attempting to do justice to the view... Country roads eventually brought us to the town of NaKano, and we decided it wasn't worth pushing south to nearby NaGano where we'd started - so we packed up the bikes and enjoyed a beer at the station to celebrate the end of a perfect trip.