MonkeyTakeTheHotSpring(JP021)

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Yamanouchi is a municipality in northern Nagano Prefecture with a variety of tourist attractions. The area's Jigokudani Monkey Park draws many visitors because of its unique wild monkeys, who bathe in the park's natural hot springs. The monkeys are not the only ones enjoying the water, as the nearby towns of Shibu Onsen and Yudanaka Onsen are centered around the bathing experience.

The largest ski resort in Japan, Shiga Kogen, is also located within Yamanouchi. One single ticket gives skiers and snowboarders access to dozens of runs, some of which hosted events during the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Shiga Kogen and other parts of Yamanouchi are part of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, which offers hiking and other outdoor activities when there is no snow on the hills.

The park has a small information center with information mostly in Japanese. However, there is a small explanation of the alpha male system of the monkey troop in English, as well as portraits of the park's present and former alpha males, dating back dozens of years. There is a live camera beside the monkey pool that is accessible online.

Although the park is open all year round, the bathing monkeys are particularly photogenic when the area is covered in snow. There is usually snow in the region from December to March, and the best timing for a visit is January and February. Monkeys enter the bath around the year, but they sometimes need some encouragement to do so by park wardens throwing food into the pool, especially during the warmer seasons of the year.

Jigokudani, in which the park is located, means "hell valley" and is a common name for Japanese valleys with volcanic activity. Although its landscape is not as dramatic as some of Japan's other jigokudani valleys, Yamanouchi's Jigokudani does produce a few steaming hot springs. There is a ryokan called Korakukan in the valley, which visitors will pass along the way to the monkey park.