Trip to Nagano, especially visit to snow monkey park turned out to be one of the best experiences. If you have a chance, visit Jigokudani Monkey Park, watching the snow monkeys bathing in the hot springs will always be one of your good memories about Japan and Nagano prefecture. It is definitely worth the visit and the long walk to the park.
Jigokudani Monkey Park is located in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, and is located in the valley of the Yokoyu-River, in the northern part of the prefecture. The name Jigokudani, meaning “Hell’s Valley”, is due to the steam and boiling water that bubbles out of small crevices in the frozen ground, surrounded by steep cliffs and formidably cold and hostile forests.The heavy snowfalls, an elevation of 850 m, and being only accessible via a narrow 2 km footpath through the forest, keep it uncrowded despite being relatively well known.
It is famous for its large population of wild Japanese macaques, more commonly referred to as snow monkeys, that go to the valley during the winter, foraging elsewhere in the national park during the warmer months. The monkeys descend from the steep cliffs and forest to sit in the warm waters of the hotsprings, and return to the security of the forests in the evenings.
However, since the monkeys are fed by park attendants, they are in the area of the hot springs all the year round, and a visit at any season will enable the visitor to observe hundreds of the macaques. The Jigokudani monkey park became famous after appearing in the documentary Baraka.
AloJapan.com