Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama

For people who like monkeys, Japan has a number of venues where you can see the Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata fuscata).  At Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, located on a hill overlooking the picturesque Arashiyama area of Kyoto, you can really get up close and personal.  Thousands of tourists visit Arashiyama everyday, but only a fraction of them notice the gate to the monkey park, and even fewer make the 20-minute hike up the hill to the area where the macaques reside.    

The park operates on a very simple concept: “If you feed them, they will come.”  According to the park’s home page, there are about 120 macaques that live in the park.  Although they are free to come and go into the surrounding hills and forest, they are bound to the park by the promise of an easy meal.  Using loud shouts of “Oi!” and circus-tempo music over loudspeakers, the park staff signal to the macaques that feed grain and peanuts will immediately be spread in the clearing in front of the rest house built on the top of the hill.  This feeding time has been somewhat engineered into a show-like event for the sake of tourists, and judging by comments posted on word-of-mouth web-sites, it is quite popular.

An Animal Encounter of the Reverse Kind: Monkeys outside, Humans inside the cage

There are four simple rules printed in English on the oversized admission ticket: “don’t stare monkeys in the eye”, “don’t touch the monkeys”, “don’t feed them outside”, and “don’t take a picture on the way”.  With respect to the first two rules, although the macaques don’t seem to be 100% wild, they are certainly not tame, so staring at them and touching them may trigger an attack.  The third rule refers to the fact that visitors may feed the animals from inside the rest house which has large wire screen windows.  Small packages of banana slices, apple chunks, and peanuts still in the shell are available for 100 yen, and visitors are instructed to offer the treats with an open palm, allowing the macaques to reach through the wire screen and pick up the food gently.  Visitors are warned to not show the macaques any food while outside of the rest house.  If the macaques even think you have food in your bags or packages, they may grab the bag and carry it off into the hills.

The fourth rule regarding not taking pictures “on the way” appears to refer to photographs taken while walking up the path to the top of the hill.  This rule is probably to prevent visitors from staring at the macaques in those areas where there aren’t any park staff members to back the macaques down if they get too aggressive.  For the most part, if you walk slowly around the park and act disinterested, or better yet, if you sit somewhere, the macaques will most likely act as if you are not there and end up right in front of your camera lens.

After sitting or walking among the seemingly peaceful macaques for awhile, the idyllic atmosphere might lull some visitors into a false sense of safety.  Many people seem to forget that the macaques are wild animals and not pets.  I get a bit nervous when I see young couples allow their small children (about 2 or 3 years old) to toddle around within 1 or 2 meters of the macaques.  While the macaques generally ignore these human intruders, if there were an attack, the parents would most likely not be able to scoop up their children before some serious injury was inflicted.

Various Expressions and Personalities

According to the park home page, all of the macaques in the park have been given names.  They apparently can be recognized by face and by their distinct personalities.  Here are a few interesting faces:

The video below was recorded on September 13, 2014.

Educational Efforts

On the trail leading up the hill there were a number of signs, some in Japanese, some in English, providing a few simple facts about the macaques.  There were no signs at the top of the hill. 

With respect to the interior of the rest house, I thought that it was a missed opportunity.  There were a few photographs of some of the macaques, but I did not notice any explanatory displays or printed materials.  Since most visitors to the park enter the rest house at least for a little while, it would have been a good place to arrange some type of educational display.  On the day of my visit, I noticed about 5 park staff, and I like to think that they often answer visitor questions about the macaques and their lifestyle, but I did not notice any such conversations while I was there.  

Food and Souvenirs

There were soft drinks sold in the rest house and also near the ticket booth and entrance at the base of the hill.  In terms of souvenirs, there was a limited selection of straps, postcards, refrigerator magnets, and other small items. 

Getting There

The nearest train station is Hankyu Railways’ “Arashiyama” station.  From there, it is about an 8-minute walk to the entrance of the park.  Just walk upriver along the south bank of the river (the left-hand side as you walk upriver) until you pass the Togetsu Bridge and you can see the boat rental concession.  The red “Torii” gates of the Shinto shrine adjacent to the monkey park will serve as a landmark.  Visitors should be forewarned that the walk up the hill takes about 20 minutes and results in a gain in elevation of about 160 meters.  There are a number of stairs at the start of the trail, and most of the trail is dirt or gravel.  The trail is not yet accessible for wheelchair users, and quite difficult, but not impossible for baby strollers.  Good walking shoes are recommended.  Admission is 550 yen for adults, 250 yen for children 4 to 15 years old, and children under 4 years old get in free.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on September 13, 2014.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)