The Jigokudani Monkey Park is located in the Jigokudani Valley (Hell Valley) within the Joshinetsu-Kogen National Park in Japan. The valley was named so, because of the steep cliffs and the steam rising from the springs everywhere. The harsh environment of the valley is the natural habitat of the wild Japanese macaque, more popularly referred to as ‘snow monkeys’ which is why the park was established here.

Visitors can observe the monkeys where they gather at a man-made pool a couple of minutes’ walk from the entrance of the park. Since visitors are not allowed to interact with or feed the monkeys, they have become quite accustomed to humans and usually ignore them allowing for excellent photographic opportunities.