Snow Monkey

After watching ‘Season of Snow’, which filmed at one of the snow resort in Hakuba where the Snow Monkey lives inspired me to make a post about this unique species native to Japan.

The Japanese Snow Monkey (Japanese Macaque) is very famous in Japan, this species lives in mountain area all over Japan except Hokaido and Okinawa, they survive winter temperature below -15 Celcius. This species has a red face and famous for their habit soaking in onsen (naturally heated volcano hot spring) during winter, who doesn't love bathing in onsen during winter time? They really know how to indulge themself by bathing in onsen while the snow drops on their head.

One of the famous tourist spots for observing Snow Monkey in Japan is Jigokudani Yaen-koen which literally means Hell’s valley. The Jigokudani Monkey Park is located in the valley of Yokoyu River that flowing from Shigakogen area of the northern part of Nagano prefecture. This natural park has an onsen made especially for the monkeys.

Here is the transport guide to Jigokudani Yaen-koen from their official website:
from JR Nagano Station, take the Nagano Dentetsu train to Yudanaka, from Yudanaka, take a bus or taxi to Kanbayashi Onsen. From there, it's about a 15 min walk to the Jigokudani Yaen-koen entrance.

Courtesy of photography.nationalgeographic.com