Snow Monkeys in spring

Five hours north of Tokyo by car, the freeway leads to a street in the city of Shibu Onsen in Nagona. The street follows the river and narrows, ending at a gravel lot. An elderly woman and her grandson sold us tickets and offered directions to the hot springs where the Snow Monkeys often sit. The air was a treat after Tokyo - clear and vibrant as we hiked along the path edging a tall forest and up a narrow river valley. On this late afternoon, the gods were with us and the monkeys (Japanese Macaque), with their tawny, soft brown fur, perfectly camouflaged against the undergrowth and rock, began to gather.

Our first glimpse of what the monkeys do on a warm spring afternoon is a close encounter, as a large monkey lopes along the path next to us, wary but otherwise ignoring our presence. Soon another handful of monkeys, the size of small collies, pass us. They were being drawn forward by a lone park employee who preceded us on the trail.

The luck came in being there at feeding time.  We crossed a short bridge over river rapids to the hot springs where the monkeys famously sit in the winter. It’s a modest cement rectangle on the river’s edge. The park warden moved slowly carefully scattering handfuls of grain along the rocks throughout the area.

One by one, the monkeys' agile fingers picked up each grain without acknowledging our human presence unless we spoke too loudly or moved too quickly, when they’d swerve away and carry on their feasting elsewhere. Next to the bath, a mother monkey was grooming her baby’s back and then his belly which he offered with contented abandon. At one point, I sat quietly on a hillside stone next to a pile of grain as several monkeys picked out their dinner from the rocks. A baby brushed my foot with his arm as his fingers moved quickly from dirt to mouth and back. Other babies chased each other, tumbling in the dust or climbing along the ropes that sit under the monkey cam which runs daily. It updates about every three minutes during the daylight hours at Jigokudani.

The most famous pictures of these critters make them look meditative, eyes heavy lidded, while sitting in the hot springs. That may be how they survive the frigid, mountain winters but not how they act in the spring. Here was a quick creature and it was easy to observe relationships between young and old, big males and smaller ones, with a sense of playfulness or quick aggression. Yes, a few sat in the water, but it was the grain that drew them there on this warm afternoon.

Too soon, the spectacle evaporated as the monkeys retreated into the hills, quickly scampering up the steep canyon sides and back to their homes in the forests above. It was a rare sighting – wild creatures taking advantage of easy pickings while allowing our curious species to watch and wonder.

Picture courtesy of Dave Rudie.