Jigokudani monkey park
There were only a few key rules laid out in broken English and Japanese on a sign in the visitors center at the Jigokudani Monkey park: Don't touch, feed or scare the monkeys. As it turned out these rules were treated more like suggestions as we saw more than a couple of visitors disregarding all three. Although Japanese Macaques are native to the hills around the park, they have been encouraged to come into the valley by the hosts of the park who have installed a permanent bathing area and furnished a generous supply of food. The monkey's heated pool is fed by the naturally occurring hot springs (Japanese onsen) that are common in the area and popular with tourists and locals alike. Throughout the winter months the monkeys are commonly found lounging in the steaming water and foraging for food in the surrounding area. As the macaques go about their business they almost completely ignore the human presence, and this makes for some candid photographic opportunities.
However, if they feel threatened by you, they may give you evil looks, hisses, drool, and even try to slap you. We found the smaller ones to be more harmless.
We stayed at Shimaya Ryokan in Yudanaka, the hosts were awesome, and there was an onsen. They made sure you had everything to make your stay the best it can be. Everything was so dated and 70's looking, even the hosts themselves, but that was part of he charm. The city itself outside of the monkey park was quite small and had the feeling of a ghost town – a nice change of pace after crazy Tokyo. And yes, monkeys are awesome.
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