This unique experience in Japan is too good to pass up!

It’s almost impossible to resist a relaxing dip in a hot spring. It’s also one of the most relaxing experiences you can have in nature. But when you are visiting the Jigokudani Monkey Park, the hot springs here have very unusual users – Japanese snow monkeys.
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Believe it or not, people throng this place, especially during the winter months, to see these macaques enjoying a hot bath.

Jigokudani Monkey Park is located in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The park was established in 1964 and has since become a popular destination for tourists from all over the world. It’s imperative to note that the hot springs at Jigokudani Monkey Park are only for the use of the wild Japanese macaque monkeys that live there. Tourists visiting the park are prohibited from using the hot springs themselves.


A short and often slippery hike through the forest will bring you to the hot springs. If you want to see the monkeys in action, you’ll have to be content with watching them from a distance. Also, visitors are not allowed to interact with the monkeys and that means, no feeding or touching the monkeys.


But don’t fret. If you want to enjoy a hot bath yourself, the nearby hot springs are perfect for that. They are sans monkeys.

The Jigokudani Monkey Park is open all year round but the best time to see this unique wildlife moment is in winter. That’s only because the sight of these macaques enjoying a hot bath in a snow covered area is too interesting to pass. You can see these macaques any time of the year. The hot spring isn’t going anywhere.