Published 03.53
The tourists misbehave. Therefore, visits to Japan’s bathing macaques are now limited.
The “snow monkeys”, known to spend hours on cold days in the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen volcanic springs park, attract visitors from all over the world.
But now it has gone too far.
– We have had incredibly long queues with visitors waiting outside the ticket office, says an anonymous representative of the park.
The growing number of visitors – sometimes up to 4,000 in a single day, most of them foreign – has had unwanted effects. Tourists have tried to feed and touch the monkeys, according to the representative. Some have even tried to bathe with the animals, which is strictly forbidden.
Therefore, starting in August, tourists must now book tickets online and a visitor ceiling of a maximum of 2,000 people is being discussed.
In 2025, Japan was visited by a record number of tourists: 42.7 million.
