5 Best Sights in The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast, Japan

When snow is on the ground, the Japanese white macaques (Asian monkeys) that make their home here are a big draw, as are their bathing habits. To be on the safe side, don't feed or touch them—or look them in the eye. The train goes as far as Yudanaka; from there, take a taxi or bus to Kanbayashi Onsen, from which it is a 30- to 40-minute walk. There is also a direct bus to Kanbayashi Onsen from Nagano Station. Although winter is the best time to see the bathing apes, there are usually some in the onsen in other seasons. Wear good shoes as the path can get muddy, and leave heavy luggage at your hotel or in your car.

This is the often unbearably hot public bath next door to the yu-batake (hot springs field) that is popularly known as a "fever bath." You can't actually bathe here, but you can watch one of six daily yumomi shows in which locals in colorful traditional garb churn the waters with long wooden planks until they reach a comfortable temperature. You can also sign up for a Yumomi Experience and try churning the waters yourself. It's about 20 minutes of churning and fairly tiring, but you'll be enthusiastically encouraged by local yumomi pros.

For a soak in the open air, try this expansive bath at the western end of Kusatsu village, which has pleasing scenery by day and lots of stars by night. Known for its milky waters, the bath can hold up to 100 people at a time. It's a 15-minute walk west from the Kusatsu bus terminal.

As well as hot-spring baths within ryokan, Shibu has nine baths scattered around town, each of which is said to bring a different benefit to bathers, from soothing intestinal issues to treating neuralgia. Legend has it that bathing in all nine results in longevity and protection from evil. Bath number 9 (called O-yu) is open to day-trippers (buy a ticket at the local tourist office), but if you stay at an inn in Shibu, you'll be given a key that unlocks all nine baths, so you can don your in-room yukata gown and hop from bath to bath.

Nagano's unusual temple is the final destination each year for millions of religious pilgrims. Since the 7th century, this nonsectarian Buddhist temple has accepted believers of all faiths and admitted women when other temples forbade it. Each morning the head priest (Tendai sect) and head priestess (Jodo sect) hold a joint service to pray for the prosperity of the assembled pilgrims (usually on tour packages). Visitors rub the worn wooden statue of the ancient doctor Binzuru (Pindola Bharadvaja in Sanskrit) for relief of aches and pains. After the service, descend into the pitch-black tunnel in the basement to find the iron latch on the wall; seizing it is said to bring enlightenment.

The temple is a 3-km (2-mile) walk from the station or, from 8:35 onwards, you could take the Gururin-go or retro Binzuru-go buses from the station (¥150, 10 minutes). They run every 15 minutes. Those buses aren't running in time for the morning service, however, which starts from 5:30 to 7 am, depending on the season, so you might want to ask your hotel to reserve a taxi for that.