In the fall we made our way up to Kyoto to visit the Arashiyama area, a region in the far northwest of the city famous for its views overlooking Kyoto, and its monkey park, where over a hundred macaque monkeys who are very friendly.
We took a train up there and it was pretty classic looking. It wasn’t super busy but a few other tourists and people making their way around the city. The trains here have a very classical vibe, partly because the conductors still wear traditional-style uniforms and the trains are so clean. I tried to line up a torii gate through one of the windows but missed it by a bit. Oh well!
We made our way to the beginning of the trail up the mountain and there was a little shrine towards the bottom. Looking across the river, there was a very nice view looking north/northeast into Kyoto, with the mists moving down the mountains it had a very ethereal feel.
The hike up the mountain was very pretty. There were a few different trails, but they were mostly closed off except for the main path. I think they are mostly open in the summertime. The path made its way through a forest that had many different types of trees. It was a fairly long hike as well, and despite the weather, we got quite warm!
At the top there were many monkeys! They were very active and quite used to people. They walked throughout crowds looking for snacks, and mostly just trying to eat everything they could. Sometimes the bigger monkeys would charge at the smaller ones around and then eat their food. Jerks!
I took quite a few pictures of these guys. The one on the swing just sitting and hanging out I thought was hilarious. Also the guy peering down from the roof, in search of food. The thing is, there seems to be plenty of food, and also the guests can purchase nuts and fruits to feed to the monkeys, and there was no shortage of guests. So, perhaps the monkeys are just having a good time flitting about hoping to get food, and not actually as ravenous as they appeared? Well, except for the guy chilling on the swing.
These guys are so good. This one on the roof is very expressive, and I’m not sure exactly what he was doing. He didn’t seem to be eating or anything. Or I guess maybe it’s a she. I think it was an older monkey as I’m not sure they had any teeth!
This signboard was pretty funny, haha. The rickshaw team across the way was primed for tours of the area, though it was getting to be late in the day and we hadn’t checked in to our hotel yet. We had a very fun time feeding the monkeys and walking around the mountain, but next it was time to head into Kyoto proper for a few days. Thanks for reading!