Monkeys find rare sanctuary in Japan hot spring

In an outdoor natural hot spring, or onsen in the snow, Nagano, Japan, people are a rare close up view of the snow monkeys in their natural habitat.

The monkeys most tourists ignore armed with cameras and scientists who have traveled hours to a few inches of purple creatures face.

For 46 years, Jigokudani Monkey Park was a haven for those snow monkeys. The living apes, appearing to almost nodding off in the bath of hot steam, almost all with hot water up to their shoulders.

"It 's pretty amazing," says Kate Bokan-Smith, an American teaching English in Japan, the year in California. "Initially it is a bit 'scared. But it is strange that the monkeys can eat food here without the man disturbed. But we can be so close. I think it's special."

Vince Manna, a nature photographer who took photos of 200 species of monkeys in the Amazon, Africa and South Asia, agreed. He has never seen anything like sanctuary, he said, aiming his camera lens high voltage so that the steam-filled onsen monkeys. "This situation is unique."

Jigokudani Monkey Park debut were corroborated by the man's frustration with the snow monkeys, Nagano whose residents considered as pests. As Nagano grew up in the hills, the monkeys grew less fierce invaders rights. Monkeys regularly broke into shops and homes to steal food, even if people are sitting near the park, he said.

Residents had considered killing animals grew emboldened by year. But the owners of the park noticed an unusual habit among apes: They seemed to enjoy the biggest tourist attraction Nagano, the outdoor onsen.

The park has decided to build a giant outdoor hot spring by the city and deep in the mountains. Jigokudani Monkey Park also began regular feedings. Incentives pulled off many of the monkeys in Nagano, though today they are still wandering in the city.

Nagano residents have moved since their feelings about the monkeys, as tourists began to visit the monkey onsen.

English, French and Chinese, are just some people have said around the onsen. "It 's a magical, wonderful!" said Christine Cocks, Australia. "They're just so cute. You could watch all day."

His family member, Jessiah, echoed these sentiments, calling the relationship between the city and monkeys "symbiotic."

Freezing in the snow with little shelter from the man, tourists can not really stay for a few minutes. They will return to Nagano and spend money in restaurants and hotels, and talk about the magic of the monkeys in the hills.