Hot-Tubbing with Snow Monkeys

It was beautiful to see how much care and attention was given to the grooming of 'mum'. Totally blissed out and loving it...

Eliza Ball has contributed a photo to this story.

This photograph is the Japanease Macaque, also known as snow monkey. who live in the Nagano mountains where is located in Jigokudani yaekoen of approximately the center of Japan. Since 1964, They took over an onsen (hot spring) area and have since become quite a tourisit drawcard. It waas amazing watching them getting in and out of the onsens. They are not afreaid of people, but you can't touch and feed them. In this area, the only snow monkeys can bathe in the hot spring and not with people.

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I remember we were instructed not to look them in the eyes, or they would see you as a threat. There was one visitor who approached a mother with her child and got too close. Before he knew it, he had a few wild screaching monkeys chasing him down the snow bank. I WOULD NOT get in this onsen, one look at all the monkey crap, and its an imediate turn-off. We went to a nice human only onsen down the road instead.

hazy jenius has contributed a photo to this story.

The Japanese Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani Monkey Park have their own open-air warm water onsen to soak in over the freezing, snow-covered winter months. The monkeys exit from a dark frozen forest early in the morning and descend steep cliffs to enter, sit and groom each other in the warm waters of the hot bath (onsen) in the narrow valley called Jigokundani or “Hell Valley”. The valley is part of the Joshin-etsu Kogen National Park, beside the Yokoyu-River. There is a small fee to enter the Monkey Park. On entering you are soon met by playful juvenile macaques and some will escort you a few hundred metres down a path to see the onsen crowded with numerous bathing and relaxing macaque. The Snow Monkeys are the Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata). There were about 30 of them in the onsen when we visited, although there are about 100 of them in the population. They are wild animals and very protective of their young, but they seem to be used to having people hovering around them within close quarters, photographing and looking. In fact they pose and model for photographs as well as or better than most people do.
The onsen is exclusive to the Snow Monkeys here, but you can bath with them at the 130-year-old ryokan, the Korakukan, which is about a 5-minute walk across the river from The Jigokudani Yaen Koen or Jigokudani Monkey Park.
Access to the Jigokudani Monkey Park from Yudanaka train station by bus or taxi and then a walk through the surrounding forest is not easy for foreigners. We obtained local help from Ichirou Yumato who drove use to a path that led to the Monkey Park after a pleasant 20-minute stroll through the surrounding forest. We recommend staying with him at his Shimaya Ryokan (Japanese inn or guest house). Ichirou Yumato is a cordial and helpful host who speaks some English. His ryokan is small, cosy and friendly. Have a look at http://www.japanhotel.net/shimaya/.

SubiYurek has contributed a photo to this story.