We were up, fed and on a bus by 09:10 heading towards Yudanaka and the Jigokudani Yaen-koen (Monkey Spa). When we arrived we were 850m above sea level and it was freezing! It was around 1 degree Celsius but we were prepared with multiple layers and hats. We knew those damn hats would come in useful again. After 2km walk up around the hills we arrived in the valley of the monkeys.
Some quick monkey facts for you. There are 200 of these little buggers in the mountains and they belong to one clan. They eat insects and vegetation. They sleep in the trees at night but come down to the spa during the day. They like the warmth of the thermal spa. The story behind their bathing is that some Ryokan (like a B and B) owner took pity on them one cold winter and left food out for them near his Onsen (heated pool). I reckon one of them thought it was warm in the pool and then they all copied and haven't looked back.
All of the monkeys at the Monkey park are wild and untamed but totally unafraid of humans. In fact I think they think we're pretty boring. We definitely don't think that of them. They just get on with their little lives and we watch them.
So we paid our 500 Yen each and went into the park. We were immediately greeted by many monkeys hanging around, eating the plants, fighting and picking at each other. They seem all very cute together and seemed to help each other out constantly picking one another. Me and Ame virtually had to step over these two on the bridge on the way to their Onsen. They weren't moving. Too busy.
So then we crossed the bridge and we saw the spa. Now get ready with your best "ooooo so cute" phrases. The photos and videos are going to come thick and fast.
We saw mother's and babies...
I had a quick staring match with one (it gives an idea of their size in this photo - this one is a large one)...
We watched them jump about...
Then true to the park's word, there were a few monkeys enjoying the hot water. Here's the snow monkeys having yet another hard day at the office.
We stood about in the freezing cold for about 1 hour watching these little things. They are so photogenic and it's very difficult to take a bad photo of these guys. That's why everyone gets obsessed with it. The results are too good. We even had a little art farty play around with our camera. Here are some results in colour, black and white and 16:9. Enjoy.
Aren't they stunners?!
(You can see what they are up to on their very own webcam... Check out: http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam/monkey/index.htm
Here's the image from 2010/04/16 at 11:00 - Notice any red and blue hats???)
We left for the main shop at the entrance absolutely freezing but very excited about what we'd seen. We asked the kind lady at the desk if we could have our picnic lunch in the shop on some stools. Of course she said yes. This is Japan.
We popped back for another quick glance at the monkeys and then decided to go. But we weren't gonna let them have all the fun. We'd heard that in the valley you could pay for onsen. It's normally separate for men and women but outside it can be mixed. We found one for a few quid, got some funny looks when we announced we'd be going outside, changed into our swim wear (but left the hats on - it is freezing after all) and went and sat in our BOILING hot onsen complete with a couple of monkeys hanging around. Perfection.
We sat there for about a hour, some people over the hill took a few photos of the mad English people and Mr and Mrs Munky looked around a few times at us in despair. We decided to call it a day and left incredibly warm and satisfied from the whole day. After a green tea at a local hotel near out bus stop, we headed back to Nagano.
We awoke after 40 minutes of passed out sleep on the bus (must of been the soak and all the excitement), decided to have dinner there and then in a cheap but cool Asian diner, and then came back to our lovely Ryokan for the night. It's was an absolutely fantastic day. It has been one of the best of the whole 6 months. You got to love those Snow Monkeys!
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