How to experience the spa loving snow monkeys in Nagano, Japan
The Japanese macaques in Jigokudani Monkey Park begin most days with a relaxing dip in their own private hot tub. Located in Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in Japan’s Nagano prefecture, the primate-only onsen is world-famous as the preferred simian hot spring.
But life hasn’t always been so simple for the snow monkeys of Jigokudani (“The Valley of Hell,” named for its natural hot springs). They were initially forced from their habitat in the 1950s by the development of nearby ski resorts. As a result, they moved into nearby towns and quickly found trouble, raiding fruit from local farmers’ orchards. The farmers petitioned the government and were granted the right to hunt the animals.
Through watching humans soaking in the local hot springs, the monkeys soon started to copy their behavior and became the only monkeys in the world known to enjoy bathing in onsens. A local man by the name of Sogo Hara led the movement to create the monkey park where they would be safe, and baths were created just for the monkeys, using the local hot spring source.
Fencing was an option to keep the monkeys away from the neighboring villages but was rejected to not limit their freedom. So, the daily practice of feeding the monkeys raw barley and soybeans began to keep them in the park rather than heading into the villages where they were considered to be pests.
A report was released by Kyoto University in Japan to scientifically validate the benefits of the monkeys’ behavior. Researchers believed that the monkeys maintain their normal body temperature due to having thicker and longer fur during winter and are the only group of monkeys known to take hot spring baths.
First observed in 1963 when a young female was seen in an outdoor hot spring belonging to a nearby hotel, other monkeys soon copied her, and eventually one in every three females bathed regularly in winter. Female snow monkeys use the hot spring more often in winter than in spring which reduced stress hormone levels in those females. Trading social status with the benefits from a hot spring has proven advantageous for conserving energy by reducing the loss of body heat and lowering stress levels.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/dbzHHzn6zB4
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2019/01/19/how-to-experience-the-spa-loving-snow-monkeys-in-nagano-japan/?sh=39755fd417e1
- https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/snow-monkeys-hot-springs-japan/index.html
- https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/snow-monkeys-tokyo-to-jigokudani/
- https://us-east-2.console.aws.amazon.com/polly/home/SynthesizeSpeech
About Author
