An adult Japanese Macaque, or snow monkey, stares into the camera while being groomed in a hot spring.

In my last article about a recent return to Matsushiro, that I was passing through Nagano on my way home from chasing monkeys in the nearby mountains.  So today, we are going to take a break from the usual historic places and events and get into some monkey business.

“Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil” The three wise monkeys carved into a wall at Toshogu, the Tokugawa family shrine and tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Monkeys are well known throughout Japan and are an important part of Japanese culture.  All throughout history, the Japanese have told stories of monkeys, wise tales about monkeys, platitudes, expressions, and idioms about monkeys.  The three wise monkeys – hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil – are Japanese monkeys originally carved as part of a wall decoration at the shrine of Toshogu, the Tokugawa family shrine and tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1600.  Japan is well known for monkeys.  The Japanese monkeys are called, appropriately, Japanese Macaques, but are also known as snow monkeys, since they live in mountains that spend several months of the year covered in deep snow.  They are also the northern most non human primates in the world and also live in the coldest winter climate.  Looking at the photos, or even seeing them in person, it may be easy to claim that they are not monkeys, but in fact apes, but the Japanese Macaques do have short tails, if you look closely.  They are also very intelligent.  A subspecies on an island in Kagoshima rose to fame after an older female figured out that, not only could you clean the sand off of sweet potatoes by washing it in the ocean, the salt in the water made the potatoes taste better.  She taught other younger monkeys and within a few years, most of the monkeys on the island were following this practice with other types of food as well.  In fact, this intelligence is something to keep in mind.  I’ll go more into that later.

The roadway up the mountainside to the Jigokudani Monkey Park. The road isn’t easy, but the photos are worth the effort.

After a night in Nagano city proper, I arrived just before lunch time in Yamanouchi, a small mountain village near the Jigokudani Monkey Park in the northern mountains of Nagano Prefecture, about 45 minutes from Nagano station on a small, long distance train line.  I dropped my bags at the Japanese inn I’d be staying at for the next three nights and walked around to get my bearings.  The town itself is beautiful.  It is a mix of old and new, nestled in the mountains and with a large river of hot spring water running through its center.  The town, in addition to monkeys, is famous for its hot springs.  All of the inns, and there are several, have baths (onsen) sourced from nearby hot springs.  In fact, many of the inns have public baths and it is common for visitors to stay in one inn, and walk through the town visiting all of the other baths along the way.  I didn’t partake in the onsen touring, however, as I was there for the monkeys.  So I got checked in, had an amazing dinner, and settled in with the intention of setting off for the monkey park first thing in the morning.

A very young Japanese Macaque, or snow monkey, huddles beside a hot spring, shivering in a heavy snowstorm.

The hike up to the monkey park was long, but uneventful.  The road starts off steep, but soon levels off and becomes a more gradual climb, and as I hiked, snow started to fall.  Fitting scenery for photographing snow monkeys.  At the top, near the park entrance, there is single inn all with a public outdoor hot springs which the monkeys often bathe in along side guests.  Monkeys often mill about outside of the inn as well, sitting on the warm pipes that supply the natural hot water to the inn and other onsens in the area.  This area is also often littered with garbage, mostly food wrappers, but not from tourists leaving their trash all over.  Remember what I said about Japanese Macaques being smart?  They figured out that plastic bags come from supermarkets and convenience stores, and that those places have delicious food.  And tourists with large backpacks often have snacks.  This is why, if you visit the monkeys, do not bring food.  Seriously.  DO NOT BRING FOOD!  The monkeys will attack you and try to steal it.  That is where all the garbage comes from.  I saw one large male attempt several times to jump onto peoples backs to open their backpacks because he smelled food, and one old woman was attacked because she had a plastic shopping bag, which to the monkeys means food.  On the other hand, if you have nothing they want, they will completely ignore you, letting you get almost as close as you want to take pictures.  At one point, I almost stepped on a small monkey I didn’t see behind a rock, and he just looked up at me for a moment before slowly walking away.

The Japanese inn near the entrance of Jigokudani Monkey Park. The monkeys often visit this inn and can usually be found relaxing with guests in the hot springs.

The entrance to the park itself is a small office and welcome building which does charge a small fee.  The welcome center has small restrooms, a gift shop counter, and a few displays, but little else.  It is mostly used for warming up between photo sessions and regrouping with friends/family before leaving.  Arriving late morning, the park was rather crowded which made shooting difficult, but not impossible.  My last trip into the park on my last day, I was sure to arrive as the park opened and was one of maybe six people.  The empty park and the heavy snow made for great photos.  Regardless of what time it is, though, the park has a lot of monkeys.  In the winter, the park staff spread grain and other food around the area for the monkeys to eat, which causes them to congregate, and the hot spring pool and hot pipes in the park are attractive for the monkeys to keep warm.  In spring and summer months, however, there are far fewer monkeys as, while the food the rangers give them will sustain them, the natural bugs, nuts, and fruits they find in the non-snow covered forest is far more delicious.  Still, thanks to tourists and easy food, a few monkeys can be found year round.

A snow monkey sits on the roof of an inn in Yamanouchi, Nagano, Japan. The monkeys live in the mountains, but often come into the village to look for food.  As humans encroach on their habitat, the monkeys learn to live in the city.

The most interesting experience of the trip, however, came on the third day.  I decided not to go again to the park, instead deciding to check out a large temple and huge Kannon statue nearby and to otherwise explore some of the outer areas of the village.  After a while, bit after lunch time, I got tired and decided to head back toward the inn, and I found that I didn’t need to go up the mountain to visit the monkeys, as they had decided to come to me.  It wasn’t the first time I had seen monkeys in the village – I had one outside my window the first night I was there – but it was the first time I had seen a troupe of monkeys in the town during the day, so I grabbed my camera and started shooting.  Unlike the monkeys in the park, these monkeys were more shy, and a the large male and a couple large females made me a bit nervous.  Even so, it was fascinating to see how the snow monkeys had adapted to city life, foraging food from trash cans, gardens that were finished for the winter, and berries growing on vines covering the sides of the buildings.  The owner of the inn explained that, while the monkeys are cute for tourists, for the residents of the town, they are something of a pest.  They get into the garbage and break things.  In fact, the Japanese inn two doors down from the one I stayed at had shut down, but someone didn’t latch a window tight enough when leaving.  The monkeys managed to get the window open and proceeded to destroy the place.  Like I said earlier, the monkeys also figured out that supermarkets and convenience stores have delicious food, so people are sometimes attacked after shopping, having their groceries ruined or outright stolen.  Still, the people put up with the problems the monkeys cause because the monkeys are part of Japan, and the tourists who come to see them are good for the economy.  That offsets at least some of the hassle of encroaching wildlife in their village.  It is a common problem in many places, in Japan and beyond, where nature and civilization meet.

One of the sad realities of the collision of man and nature is injured and crippled animals.  This poor monkey has no legs, but she has learned to get around, climb, find food, and otherwise live her life as best she can.  Tragic, yet somehow inspiring.  If a young monkey can manage to overcome her difficulties, why can’t we?

Even so, if you have the chance to go visit one of Japan’s many monkey parks, I highly recommend it.  It is a great opportunity to see these great animals in the wild.  Instead of looking at monkeys locked up in a cage at a zoo, you can enter their world.  Just remember to do it safely, keep a bit of distance, and don’t bring any food.

A curious monkey looks in the window as I relax in my room, waiting on dinner to be served.  It was my first night in Yamanouchi, so I took it as a good sign.