Jigokudani Monkey Park

Japan's Jigokudani Monkey Park (地獄谷野猿公苑 "Jigokudani Yaen Kōen") is in Yamanouchi, Shimotakai District, Nagano Prefecture. It is part of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, and is located in the valley of the Yokoyu-River, in the northern part of the prefecture. The name Jigokudani, meaning "Hell's Valley", is due to the steam and boiling water that bubbles out of small crevices in the frozen ground, surrounded by steep cliffs and formidably cold and hostile forests.

The heavy snowfalls (snow covers the ground for 4 months a year), an elevation of 850 meters, and being only accessible via a narrow two kilometer footpath through the forest, keep it uncrowded despite being relatively well-known.

It is famous for its large population of wild Japanese Macaques ("Macaca fuscata"), more commonly referred to as Snow Monkeys, that go to the valley during the winter, foraging elsewhere in the national park during the warmer months. Starting in 1963, the monkeys descend from the steep cliffs and forest to sit in the warm waters of the onsen (hotsprings), and return to the security of the forests in the evenings.

References

External links

* [http://www.yudanaka-shibuonsen.com Guide around Jigokudani Monkey park and the town]
* [http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/frameset.html Jigokudani Yaen-Koen]
* [http://www.info-yamanouchi.net/english/ IN-BOUND ATTRACTION PROPULSION CONFERENCE OF YAMANOUCHI TOWN]
* [http://www.ichizaemon.com/en Hotel with 8hot baths and 10rooms with open air bath on balcony]
* [http://ameblo.jp/yudanaka-seifuso/ yudanaka-seifu-so]

* [http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/nagano/korakukan.htm Japanese Guest Houses]