Arashiyama Monkey Park in Kyoto, Japan

When we were planning our visit to Kyoto this summer I found one place that I knew we had to visit. Arashiyama Monkey Park is located on the outskirts of Kyoto and is easily accessible by train with a short walk from the station, or a lovely air-conditioned taxi if you are visiting on an unbearably hot day like we did!

To visit the Monkey Park, you buy your ticket at the entrance and then you need to climb up the hill to get to the monkeys. It only takes about 30 minutes, but when we visited in July during a heatwave it was a long, hot walk and it was quite tough. There are benches along the way as well as fans, and it's quite shaded, but you definitely need to be careful in the heat. We had cooling towels and fans which really helped, as well as plenty of water. At the top there was a lightly air-conditioned indoor rest area, and there were also vending machines for drinks at the top and bottom.

On the way up there are plenty of signs in English to remind you how to behave around the monkeys. Both warning signs, like not carrying loose articles that they might grab, and reminders not to feed them your own food, not to approach them too closely, and not to stare into their eyes as that may make them aggressive.

When you reach the top there is a wide, open area with some wonderful views over the surrounding area. And of course you are surrounded by monkeys! They walk around you and can be seen in the forested areas nearby, some even with tiny babies. There are staff to make sure that they are kept safe, but all the visitors were being really respectful to them and keeping a good distance.

In the middle there is an enclosed hut with wire windows. You can buy some food (peanuts and fruit) for a very reasonable price, and then feed it to the monkeys through the windows. This was an amazing experience! The monkeys were so polite, they came up and reached through with their sweet little fingers to take the food. 

This was definitely the highlight of the visit. There's no pressure, if you don't want to actually feed the monkeys yourself you can just stand there, watch other visitors, and enjoy being so close to the monkeys. It's fascinating to watch their behaviours, and very strange to be the ones in the cage while the monkeys roam free!

We had a lovely visit here and I'd really recommend it. It felt completely safe and I definitely had the impression that the owners of the attraction really care about the monkeys and making sure that they are in an environment where they feel comfortable. 

After visiting the Monkey Park there are some other great places in the local area to enjoy. We visited the popular Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and the walk there takes you down a lovely touristy road filled with pretty souvenir shops and lots of fun themed character cafés which my daughter recognised from social media. We also visited the beautiful Tenryuji Temple, where there were some shaded benches with wonderful views across the gardens and pond. You could easily spend a whole day here exploring and seeing some really unique sights.