A Day Trip to Jigokudani Monkey Park
All of us started showing withdrawal symptoms pretty soon after returning from the long snow trip. As a cure, we decided to do a day trip to another snowy destination, where we had been once before as well.
The 'Jigokudani Yaen Koen' (literally translates to 'Hell's Valley Monkey Park') is one of the top spots to visit in winter. It is located in Yamanouchi, deep within the beautiful landscape of Nagano prefecture.
There are numerous YouTube videos on this place, as this is the only known place in the world where wild monkeys (Japanese Macaques in this case) take a dip in a natural hot spring, to relieve themselves from the bitter cold of the winter. We made a short film of our own.
We set off around 6:30 a.m. so that we could the place before it got too crowded. To avoid stopping for breakfast, we even packed some eggs and bread. But the drive was close to 300 km, and it was past 10'o clock by the time we reached the parking lot.
To reach the hot spring, we need to walk 2 km through a snowy path. It's fun, but a bit dangerous as well, as it can get really slippery. We managed to reach the hot spring just before noon.
Unfortunately, we could see many of the monkeys climbing back up the hill to go into the woods after finishing their 'spa session' already. As it's an ecologically sensitive area, one cannot carry food items or any sort of non-recyclable materials. Even drones and selfie sticks are not allowed as it could scare away the monkeys.
After spending an hour or so looking at their antics (including their lunch!), we were starving. So we set off on our way back, and reached the restaurant near the parking lot. We had enjoyed the food there the last time we went, and were looking forward to the visit!
We sat down in the warm confines of the restaurant and savored the delicious - apple pie (that area, called Shiga Kogen, is famous for its apples), chicken noodles, some fish and chips, and mouth watering softies in apple flavor!
We had originally planned to visit an onsen (hot spring) ourselves on our way back, but were too tired after the long drive and the heavy lunch. So we skipped the onsen and came home. Due to the Sunday evening crowds returning from their weekend trips, it was almost 8 in the night when we reached home.
Thanks to my good friend Dhanur Sharma, I came to know a bit of history about the park itself. Apparently, back in 1957, a hiker named Soga Hara discovered this group of monkeys. Due to encroachment of their natural living space, they had conflicts with the humans living in the area. The monkeys also started visiting the natural hot spring in that area Korakukan.
To prevent further conflict, and also to prevent the monkeys from using the same hot spring as the humans, Soga Hara led a movement to make a special park for the monkeys. Thus came about the Jigokudani Yaen Koen. There is no fencing around the place. And to motivate the monkeys to come down during non-winter months as well, there are caretakers who feed them at designated times.
If one visits Japan in winter, the monkey park should definitely feature in their list of destinations! Hope you enjoyed this little trip of ours. Thanks for reading!