The hot spring
Monkeys in the steam.
Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Yiannis Theologos Michellis — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA — CC BY 2.0 · 迷惘的人生 — CC BY-SA 2.0 · 迷惘的人生 — CC BY-SA 2.0
Jigokudani Monkey Park lies in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, within Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in the valley of the Yokoyu River, about 5 km from Yudanaka in a straight line and some three and a half hours from Tokyo. Jigokudani means «Hell's Valley», after the steam and boiling water that bubble from cracks in the frozen ground between steep cliffs and cold forests. A large population of wild Japanese macaques, known as snow monkeys, comes down into the valley in winter. The park's famous sight is the monkeys sitting in a hot spring amid the snow, their red faces peering through the steam as snow settles on their fur. Snow covers the ground for about four months a year, and the park sits at 850 metres. It can only be reached on a narrow forest path about 2 km long, which is slippery in winter, so wear proper shoes. Do not feed or touch the monkeys, and keep your distance.
Monkeys in the steam.
Four months a year.
Through the forest.
Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
December to March.
No.