Japan Trip Day 11: The Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani, Nagano

We've heart about Snow Monkeys in Discovery Channel that it's a "must see" when in Nagano, Japan. And so we tried it. We were so excited and viola, no one told us that we have to walk 3.2 kilometers (back and forth) on an icy pathway. The challenge was, we have a stroller for our 4-yr old son. We can't afford to slip or who knows where we are going to end up :). Half way going up, hubby and I were thinking that it maybe best to go back and wait for our friends in the bus stop.  Glad  that we "break the arrow" meaning we continue to go up.  The view up there was so breathtaking and beautiful.

Here's some of the pics.

Park entrance, this is where one can decide whether to go up or not :).

Meet the snow monkeys:

If it was a challenge going up, i find it more challenging going down since we need to hold the pram and make sure it won't slide.  I was pushing the pram so i was extra careful and i think my motherly instinct is working so well while my hubby slipped twice. Although he was not the only one who slid, it should not deter people to go up and see the snow monkeys.  After looking at the pictures, i find the trip worth it.

Some facts about the Snow Monkeys (copied from (http://www.snowjapan.com/the-snow-monkeys-of-jigokudani-nagano):
The Jigokudani Yaenkoen park opened in 1964 and since then many thousands of people from around the world have visited the park to observe the lifestyle of the Japanese Macaque.  The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) is a monkey species native to northern Japan, and is the most northern-living non-human primate, surviving winter temperatures of below -15 °C.  They have brown-gray fur, a red face, hands and bottom, and a short tail - and often seem remarkably human like.

In the wild they spend most of their time in forests and feed on seeds, buds, fruit, invertebrates, berries, leaves, and bark.  The monkeys have a body length ranging from 80 to 95 cm.  The males weigh around 10-14 kg while the females are usually around 5.5 kg