When visiting Jigokudani Park, Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, Nagano Province, Japan, many people must be surprised to see snow monkeys relaxing in the springs. hot with a refreshing look.
Winter in Nagano is extremely cold. Jigokudani Park is often covered with snow and ice at least 4 months a year. The temperature can drop to -15⁰C, with white snow everywhere. However, the snow monkeys here are not worried at all because the hot springs in Jigokudani are their true paradise.
Snow monkeys are a typical breed of monkey in Japan that often grow in cold places. That’s why they gather a lot in Jigokudani. Jigokudani is also known as “Hell Valley” because there are scattered lava pits, steaming hot steam vents and a sulfur smell, making the mountain and forest scene become strange and magical. Because of the special terrain, there are many of Japan’s top natural hot springs here.
In the 1950s, Japanese people began to promote the exploitation of natural hot springs to form ski resorts around the area. The snow monkeys no longer had a place to live and were forced to move to live in surrounding towns.
However, the snow monkeys’ mischief and fruit stealing made people angry. They petitioned the government and were granted the right to hunt these animals.
Around 1957 the manager of the nearby Kourakukan (a traditional Japanese inn) began fighting to Protect the snow monkeys. He and Sogo Hara, a wildlife enthusiast, discovered that snow monkeys loved to bathe in hot springs.
There are reports that Hara saw a snow monkey because he wanted to marry one. The apple fell into the hot water pool. However, when he grasped the apple in his hand, the monkey did not immediately escape the water surface, it seemed that he realized the comfort of immersing himself in hot water. Very soon the other monkeys imitated you. Some people also say that the snow monkeys here imitate tourists when they bathe there.
The snow monkeys bathing in hot water has made tourists feel very excited. More and more tourists flock to Jigokudani. In 1964, Jigokudani Monkey Park was officially established. This is where the snow monkeys live and freely soak in the hot springs peacefully.
According to research by the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, snow monkeys in Jigokudani take hot baths not simply to warm their bodies. Hot baths help them reduce stress because snow monkeys are often more stressed when having to regulate their body temperature in winter.
At the same time, scientists have shown that soaking in hot water also helps monkeys increase their ability to reproduce and survive in the cold winter.</p >
Visitors are not allowed to touch or feed the monkeys at Jigokudani Park. The snow monkeys didn’t seem to care either. No matter how many visitors come to see and take photos of them, the monkeys still calmly do their work and enjoy themselves.
Their job is to enjoy. Photo source: Pinterest.
The snow monkeys in Jigokudani often take a dip in the early morning. Therefore, visitors are recommended to stay overnight in the park so as not to miss the monkeys’ relaxing moments.
Besides other famous tourist attractions, Jigokudani Monkey Park is also one of the famous places that attracts the most tourists in Japan.</p >
