Nagano - Nov 2004

Monkey Paradise

On our last trip in September ‘04, we took a journey to Miyajima, which turned out to be Island of the Vicious Monkeys and Voracious Deer. In November, we traveled to Nagano and visited a delightful scenic area called “Jigokudani” or “Hell’s Valley.” Actually, I’m not out to visit every monkey haven in Japan. It just turned out that way.
After a five hour drive from the suburbs of Tokyo, we arrived at our cozy, mom- and-pop style Japanese inn, where we were greeted by the friendly proprietor, who explained to us how those hot springs bathing monkeys got so famous.
Several families of Japanese macaque live in the area around Jigokudani in Nagano, surrounded by the majestic Japan Alps, mountainsides ablaze with Japanese maple and bubbling with natural hot springs. About thirty years ago, a little baby monkey fell into one of the hot springs in the dead of winter. The mama went to retrieve her and discovered that it’s not so bad to take a nice hot soak – great way to warm up. Ever since then, families of monkeys have taken to dipping in the hot springs during the chilly Nagano winters. And curious people have come from all over to observe them. They were made even more popular with the arrival of the Winter Olympics in 1998.
Although it’s called “Hell’s Valley,” it’s actually a paradise for monkeys. They forage for food in the nearby mountains, have fresh abundant water from the river flowing through the valley, and next to the river are several hot springs to soak in during the cold season.
The signs warn us: “Don’t stare into their eyes.” (They might feel confronted.) “Don’t feed them.” (They’ll get aggressive and start grabbing.) “Don’t talk to them.” (They’ll interpret it as a sign of confrontation.) We heeded all the warnings – (Don’t have to tell me twice.) One large male monkey sitting in the path and blocking it held up foot traffic because nobody wanted to pass him. Yes, nobody wanted to be a victim of a vicious monkey attack. Selena thought it was quite amusing to take pictures of monkey rear ends. They can be quite colorful.
The “onsen,” or hot springs, are quite a popular attraction for people, too. The town of Shibu has a set of nine public onsens, which brings you good luck if you walk around town and dip into all nine. The cheery proprietress of one of the gift stores handed us a master key to use the onsens. We started out with the large one, divided between sexes. These are all free of charge, and since it was daytime, it was empty. The three of us (Selena, Cassandra, and I) took a nice, hot dip in the first stone-slab style onsen. Ian had to go solo in the men’s onsen and he reported no strange or unusual encounters. It was almost hot enough to peel the skin off my behind. (Then I’d look like one of those monkeys.) After trying one more onsen, I’d had enough hot water; it was time to throw in the towel. Cassandra and I found an outdoor foot-bath cedar onsen and we soaked our stinky feet while Selena and Ian continued on for more torture.
If you buy a special hand towel for this onsen tour, you can stamp the onsen number on the towel and keep it as a memorable souvenir. The stamps are available right outside each onsen door. Of course, the nice gift store proprietress got our business for lending us the master key.
This trip is highly recommended – see monkeys bathing in hot springs and bathe in one yourself, but not together. Don’t consider bathing with them if you value your privates.