Jigokudani Snow Monkeys

50 photos

Click on a picture for a larger display or Slideshow button (right) for automatic display. February 2020. In the 1950's deforestation for ski resorts drove the local mountain Macaque or snow monkey population of Jigokudani down towards the town and the Korakukan guest house with its hot spring onsens. As they watched the humans soaking in the hot water the monkeys started copying them and thus the legend of the bathing snow monkeys was born. This had hygiene implications for the guest house and so baths were created just for the monkeys and a protected park established where they were fed and incentivised to stay away from the hotel and town