In this area, it is not only human beings who soothe their bodies in hot springs to escape the severe cold of winter. Deeper in the mountains, away from the peopled community of Yamanouchi Town, there is a facility called the Wild Snow Monkey Park where visitors can observe Japanese macaques in almost natural conditions. The Japanese macaques that gather here live amid the nature of the mountains, within a radius of a few kilometers. But they flock to this park to obtain the feed that the facility distributes to them in a planned manner.Since the park’s opening in 1964, the Japanese macaques have been well cared for, so they are not afraid of humans at all. Accordingly, as long as visitors do not break the rules, such as by staring hard into a monkey’s eyes, touching them, frightening them, or giving them food, the monkeys will not be hostile. So every year not only researchers and photographers but also tourists from around the world come in droves to this place where the fascinating ecology of wild Japanese macaques can be observed at close hand.