Visit Kyoto: Iwatayama Monkey Park

To be quite honest, I thought I was going hate the monkey park.  I already skip all the monkey exhibits at the Honolulu Zoo so I was fine skipping this one too.  I left it up to my daughter and much to my dismay, she was all for it.  The park is in Arashiyama and the entrance is right next to the left bank of the Oi River.  Admission for children ages 4-15 years is 250 yen and adults over 15 are 550 yen.

At the entrance of the monkey park. 

The hike up to the park from the entrance is steep and will take about 20 minutes.  We totally went for it (read: my 11 year old went for it and I almost had a heart attack trying to keep up) and reached the park in about 10 minutes.  Thank goodness for the resting room with air conditioning!

The park is inhabited by a troop of about 130 wild monkeys, native to Japan.  They are called Japanese macaque, but are better known as the snow monkey.  The monkeys seen in the park are wild, but fed by the staff.  When the park is closed, the monkeys return into the mountain. 

While at the park, you must follow three rules:  don't stare into the monkeys' eyes as they consider it as a sign of a threat and some of them become aggressive; don't touch the monkeys (no problem!); and don't feed them outside of the hut.  Inside the hut, you can purchase peanuts, apples, and bananas for 100 yen a bag.  We had so much fun feeding the monkeys, we went through six bags!  

Glad that my daughter opted to visit because we both had such a fun time and I also got a great workout!    

This way up!

I got bit a couple of times so bug spray would be a good idea!

We made it!  Thank goodness! 

Beautiful views of Kyoto.

Inside the hut where you can feed the monkeys safely.

Just lay it down for them to grab.