Which ones are the monkeys??

In January I went to Nagano for my annual snowboarding trip with a bunch of friends. Maybe you have heard of the snow monkeys in Japan. They took over an onsen (hot spring) area years ago and have since become quite a tourist drawcard. You often see pictures of them sitting in the hot springs with snow piling up on their heads! Anyway, being so close to Hakuba, where we were staying, we decided to head on over and take a look. It is something I had wanted to do for years but had never had the chance. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and not snowing at all - Japan had a shocking snow season this last winter - but the little critters didn't disappoint! My mate and I followed the little monkeys all over the place. They were totally unafraid of the humans invading their space. It was amazing watching them getting in and out of the onsens, and I would highly recommend a trip to Jigokutani onsen near the Shiga Kogen ski resorts if you are ever anywhere near Nagano Prefecture in Japan. While my mate and I were fascinated with the monkeys, it seems that my girlfriend was fascinated with the monkeys taking pictures of the monkeys!