Jigokudani

Last weekend we made a day trip to Jigokudani to see the famous Snow Monkey Park. You may have seen pictures of these Japanese Macaques in National Geographic. Other than humans, no primates live in a colder climate than this population of monkeys, and they use the natural onsen (hot springs) to stay warm.

The park itself was bigger than we expected, and there were lots of monkeys (they estimate about 200 in the troop there). They really blend in with the rocks! There are at least 20 monkeys in the photo below.

They stand out much better on the snow. The park feeds the monkeys, and we were lucky enough to be there for lunch-time. Here they are picking barley seeds out of the snow.

The monkeys are really used to people (not a huge surprise, as this is a major tourist destination).

Even though they were not spooked by humans, we were pretty surprised how close they would come!

They came so close that one jumped on my shoulder (briefly, thank goodness), and another particularly aggressive fellow initiated a tug-of-war with Gay and I for our bags.

The major photo spot, of course, is the onsen. The monkeys sit in and drink the hot water to stay warm in the winter months.

I found their "human" gestures just amazing - it is such a strange feeling to be looking at an animal and feel such familiarity. It is as though I can see what they are thinking....

"Hmmmmm, that's a nice camera"

"I really need to work on my cuticles."

"What a pretty girl I am!"

Playing

Grooming

Lounging

"Ya'll come back now, y'hear!"