![]() If you’re not going north of Tokyo but south to Kyoto and Osaka, Arashiyama Monkey Park in Kyoto is another popular viewing spot. Japanese, on the other hand, are few in number and the park is not well known nationally despite its fame on the worldwide stage. ![]() Winter is the most popular season for visiting and it’s usually crowded with foreign tourists. It’s a joy to watch the humanlike interactions between members of the same monkey tribe or “troop”, not to mention seeing them take a dip in the hot springs inside the park! These monkeys are very used to humans and won’t hesitate to approach within an arms length of you. It’s located in the same region as Hakuba and you can even see serows on the far banks across the river from time to time, too! You can see them at “ Jigokudani Monkey Park” in Nagano Prefecture, the very same place David Attenborough visited. These are the northernmost living primates in the world and the only ones to live in a climate with snowfall. Snow Monkey/ Japanese Macaque (サル "Saru")Ī lot of people have heard of or seen Japan’s “snow monkeys”, thanks to their now well dated debut with David Attenborough on BBC. They have a number of English-speaking guides, and are located just an hour and a half Shinkansen from Tokyo.Ģ. If you want to 100% guarantee a wild serow sighting, why not join Picchio Wildlife Research Centre’s tour? While on the pricier side, the tour includes a guided hike, lunch on the mountain and the insight of professional guides. If you catch the first ski lifts early in the morning, you have a high chance of spotting them, however they have also been seen from roads in the area throughout the day. A popular place they are spotted is Hakuba, well known as a winter sports resort and for hosting the Winter Olympics some years ago. It may be worth bringing binoculars to scout the open areas too. If you’re going hiking up a mountain, keep your eyes peeled for serow. Serow can be spotted in mountainous areas in Honshu and Shikoku. The Japanese Serow species is endemic to Japan and and can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Sure enough, they do have a very spirit-like air about them and an encounter with a serow is one you’re unlikely to forget! If you’ve ever seen the Studio Ghibli film “Princess Mononoke”, you might be curious to know that the Forest Spirit character is based on this mysterious animal. Looking at its photo, you might be thinking, what on earth is this creature? A donkey? A goat? Actually, serows are ungulates, meaning they’re relatives of cows. Since I don’t personally go to zoos in Japan after seeing my first few free zoos here, I can’t tell you exactly what those zoos are going to be like, though. Though I will make some zoo recommendations for species which are difficult to spot, I will stick to zoos which I have heard good things about. ![]() Secondly, the animals pose a safety hazard and will be killed to prevent risk of attacks on humans.) This affects the livelihood of local farmers and usually results in animals being killed to protect farms. If they become used to humans and human food, they’re more likely to eat crops or approach livestock. They also reduce the problem of people feeding food to wild animals at random. While not entirely natural, they are a step above many zoos, as animals are fed by the park staff at set times only and otherwise left to their own devices. This isn’t an issue I’m going to go into in this article, but for various reasons I strongly encourage taking a wildlife tour or attempting to spot for animals while taking a hike on a well-established trail instead. While it may be easy to see these species in a zoo, the conditions of many zoos in Japan are admittedly not as great as one might hope.
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