Visiting Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
If you are interested in seeing the Japanese Macaques but don’t have the time to wander around the wilderness looking for them, then I’d recommend visiting Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama in Kyoto. Everyone is familiar with the famous snow monkeys soaking it up in the hot springs in Nagano Prefecture. But visiting the snow monkeys there can be time consuming and you have to be there during the appropriate season.
Arashiyama Monkey Park is open all year long and is easily accessible, especially if visitors are already in Kyoto. From Arashiyama Station, it’s a quick walk to the park. Visitors can then hike to the top of the mountain and be greeted by numerous Japanese Macaques. Visitors can also experience feeding the monkeys fruits and peanuts. If you are interested in visiting Arashiyama Monkey Park and learning more about the Japanese macaques, this post outlines everything there is to know from getting to the park, feeding the monkeys, and monkey behavior to watch out for. 🐒 🇯🇵
If staying in Kyoto, there are several ways to get to Arashiyama Monkey Park. Bus and train are the main public transportation options. Visitors can also rent bikes in Kyoto and cycle here like we did on our 2 Day Visit to Kyoto back in 2021. 🇯🇵
So how do you get to the Monkey Park in Kyoto by bus?
- There are buses that run from Kyoto Station to Arashiyama Koen (Park). The bus from Kyoto Station usually takes around 45 minutes and costs ¥230 one-way.
Guide to Kyoto has a lot of great information on bus routes and fares around Kyoto.
Getting to Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama by local train.
- Getting to the monkey park by train is another cheap and easy option.
- We found getting off at Hankyu Arashiyama Station was the closest station to Arashiyama Monkey Park. From here it was about a 10-15 minute walk.
- If getting off at the JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, it’s about a 15-30 minute walk to Monkey Park Iwatayama.
The entrance to Arashiyama Monkey Park is just passed the Togetsu Small Bridge in Arashiyama. There should be signs pointing toward the monkey park entrance. Just in case, here are the coordinates from Google Maps: 35.0114824,135.6762837.
Information About Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
Arashiyama Monkey Park also known as Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, Monkey Park Iwatayama, or just Kyoto Monkey Park is a park in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto.
What makes this park unique is that visitors have a chance to see wild Japanese Macaques. Japanese Macaques are also known as Snow Monkeys, but this generally just refers to the Snow Monkeys at Jigokundani-Yaen-Koen, made famous by relaxing in hot springs during the cold winter months. When it is not winter in Japan, these monkeys are simply called Japanese Macaques.
On our last trip to Kyoto, we visited Arashiyama Monkey Park and want to share our experiences and information that we learned both about the park and the Japanese Macaques themselves.
Admission and Hours
Admission
Adults – ¥600
Children – ¥300
Hours
9:oo – 16:00 Daily
- In the event that the monkeys head back to the mountain for the day, the park will close early.
- Arashiyama Monkey Park is closed on January 1.
Rules and Safety Information Around the Japanese Macaques
Monkeys can be aggressive and unpredictable. We noticed many of the monkeys had bad scars and wounds from getting into altercations with other monkeys. Although rare, they are known to attack humans. There were several signs throughout the park providing visitors with safety information and what to do and not to do around the monkeys.
Here are a few important safety tips when visiting Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama. I feel like these safety tips are common sense and pretty straight forward, but in todays world, you never know!
- Don’t stare directly into the monkeys eyes
- Don’t touch or harass the monkeys
- Don’t feed the monkeys other then food provided at the visitor center
- Keep a distance of 2 meters between you and the monkeys
- Avoid pointing your camera and phone directly at the monkeys
- Don’t crouch in front of them, especially when taking photos
The Trail to Monkey Park Iwatayama
Visiting the Monkey Park in Kyoto is definitely no walk in the park. The park, feeding site, and location where the monkeys tend to be is located at the top of a 160m hill.
There is a roundtrip trail that leads to the Monkey Park Iwatayama. I couldn’t find any information on the trail length but it took us between 20-30 minutes to reach the top. The trail was steep and muddy in spots but was very doable, even for smaller children. For those that have difficulty walking, it might be a challenge so keep that in mind. We visited Arashiyama Monkey Park in October so the weather was bearable. I couldn’t imagine doing this hike during the hot summer months.
Visiting Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
Once the summit of the hill is reached, it’s relatively flat and easy to walk around. Visitors will notice wild monkeys running around. There are approximately 120 monkeys that call the area home and yes they are wild. The monkeys can freely come and go as they please, often times you will see them off in the distance sleeping or fighting in the trees and hillsides.
Within the park there is a visitor center, pond, and amazing overlook with great views of Kyoto. Here monkeys freely run around, lounge on benches, play, fight, and sometimes can be curious enough to get close to visitors.
There is quite a few staff members around Arashiyama Monkey Park, especially at the top. They were very helpful, polite, and made sure none of the visitors were harassing the monkeys and vice versa.
At Monkey Park Iwatayama, there is a hut in the middle of the park. The hut is more of a visitor center and place to safely feed the monkeys. Within the visitor center, there is information on the Japanese Macaques, a rest area, vending machines, and monkey food to purchase for feeding the monkeys.
Feeding the Monkeys at Kyoto's Monkey Park
A major draw to visiting the Monkey Park in Kyoto, is that visitors get an opportunity to see and feed wild monkeys. Remember, it is prohibited to feed the monkeys outside food. But lucky for visitors like us, food to feed the monkeys can be purchased at the visitor center. For ¥100 a bag of either peanuts or apples can be purchased.
From the inside of the visitors center there are openings secured by wired fences large enough for the monkeys to stick there arms through to retrieve a treat. In this case, the roles are reversed. Us humans are caged inside feeding the wild monkeys on the outside. It was a fun experience getting to feed the Japanese Macaques. Do be careful as some of the larger males can become quite aggressive and chase of the smaller and younger monkeys.
Japanese Macaques Behavior and Characteristics
Japanese Macaques, also known as “Snow Monkeys” are a species of monkey endemic to Japan. I don’t like referring the Japanese Macaque as the “Snow Monkeys” because this just refers to the Famous Hot Spring Monkeys in Nagano Prefecture. Otherwise, they are just known as Japanese Macaques and they thrive all year long, not just in winter.
The Japanese Macaques generally have a life span up to 30 years. They typically give birth between the months of April and July for those that are interested in seeing their cute babies a few months later.
From a lot of the signs posted throughout the park, I learned a lot about the Japanese Macaque. Below are some of the interesting facts I learnt about both their behavior and characteristics.
- At the time of birth, a Japanese Macaque baby weighs about 500g.
- The Japanese Macaque generally stops growing at the 10 year mark.
- Monkeys, like humans have unique fingerprints.
- Their front and hind legs are similar, allowing them to move around so well both on the ground and through the trees.
- Like humans, the monkeys have flat nails which allows them to grab items with ease.
- If you look closely at their rear end, you’ll notice two hard pads. These pads are hard skin like a callus and is used like a cushion while they sit down.
- Apparently the Japanese Macaques have 32 teeth.
- Like squirrels and chipmunks, the Japanese Macaque has a cheek pouch for storing food.
- The Japanese Macaques are known for their red faces. The red color appears this way because of the blood vessels in the skin around the face. Younger macaques have a white face but it turns red as they grow older and mature. 🐒
Final Thoughts on Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
Visiting the Monkey Park in Kyoto was definitely a highlight for us. We fully intended to visit the Arashiyama Monkey Park our first time around in Kyoto but due to Covid-19, the park was closed on weekends to visitors. The wait and build up was worth it. Both Jill and I had an amazing time visiting the Monkey Park. It’s always a unique experience getting up close and personal to wild animals. We highly recommend visiting the park especially during the spring and fall months. 🙉
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