|
Japan Trip Series, Part 5 
First: What these monkeys are. The park identifies them as Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata), an endemic species in Japan. They’re also described as “snow monkeys”, and the signs note they live in the northernmost monkey habitat in the world.
Then there’s the park’s relationship with the troop. Since the park was established at Iwatayama, staff have been feeding wild monkeys so they stay in the area and can be observed. The signs also note that, generally, there are about 30–50 monkeys in a group in the wild, and in this park you can find around 120 monkeys.
Those numbers quietly recalibrate how you see them. They’re not tiny. They’re not pets. They’re compact, muscular, fast, and fully built for their environment.
Diet-wise, the park describes them as omnivores, but specifically notes they don’t catch other mammals to eat. They like fruit and leaves, and eat insects in summer. It is also noted other wild animals share their habitat, including deer, birds, and boars.
Note: All photos and videos in this post were taken by me with an iPhone 17 Pro.
1 Comment
Japan Trip Series, Part 4 Part 3 ended with rain, bamboo, and the Katsura River… and the promise of monkeys next. Now it’s monkey time!  The Arashiyama Monkey Park (Iwatayama) is a great attraction and a solid short workout. The summit rest area (i.e. where you’ll see most of the monkeys) is about a 15-minute hike from the entrance, with over 100 metres of elevation gain. Don’t let the climb scare you off. This place is worth it, especially if you come from somewhere where monkeys are not a normal part of daily life (‘Hello’ from Manitoba, Canada). The troop (yes, that’s the official term for a group of monkeys) at the summit is the kind of wildlife encounter that lands right in the sweet spot between awe and adrenaline. Some monkeys were cute. Some were chill. Some were a bit hardcore, but mostly with each other. I didn’t see any aggression toward humans, and the staff shut down monkey-on-monkey conflict pretty fast. Watching them move through their own social gravity—unbothered, watchful, occasionally intense—was endlessly compelling.
The view is the other reward. From up high, Kyoto opens up in layers: City grid, river corridor, distant slopes, and that soft atmospheric haze that makes everything feel slightly cinematic. It’s the kind of vantage point that makes you pause (not because you have to, but because your brain demands a minute to render it all). Also: Modern phone cameras are freaking amazing. Between keeping my distance and the monkeys’ constant motion, the extra zoom on my iPhone 17 Pro really came in handy. It let me stay back and still capture expressions, posture, and those tiny moments that feel like they’ll evaporate if you don’t catch them.
With those rules in mind, the experience becomes what it should be: Observation. You’re visiting them, not the other way around. Stay tuned for part 5 on Wednesday, February 18th. More monkeys!  Note: All photos and videos in this post were taken by me with an iPhone 17 Pro.
|
