A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Jigokudani Monkey Park, in Nagano, Japan. The park is famous for the Japanese macaque monkeys who live there, and bathe in the onsen, a natural mineral hot spring. During the winter, when temperatures plunge to -8℃ and there is substantial snowfall, they spend their days sitting in the warm water, preening each other, and looking blissed out.
The monkeys are wild and live in the mountains around Jigokudani Park. In 1864, Kōrakukan, a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn opened, for travellers to visit and enjoy the waters in riverside baths. The monkeys began visiting the baths, and to discourage the behaviour, park officials decided to build the monkeys a private bath of their own. Over time, the monkeys have developed their own bathing culture.
It’s fascinating to watch the monkeys sitting around. There are no cages, or confinement of any kind. They return to the trees in the mountains above their onsen at night, and return in the morning. People are not allowed to touch the monkeys, and they seem oblivious to humans, walking through the legs of visitors, and doing their own thing.
After I caught my breath at the sight of these amazing creatures, I quickly noticed a very cute, very young little guy, who was breastfeeding in the water. His mum looked exasperated, and I could relate to the feeling, after my own breastfeeding experiences. She looked like she wanted a break. The little guy began jumping in and out of the water, onto rocks and then onto his mum’s head. He then began swimming for the edge, hauled himself out, and started crying out for her. The cries sounded like the chirping of crickets, and the baby looked like Gizmo, from Gremlins. I started filming. He was so adorable.
On the bus on the way home I decided to share my video on social media as a reel. Unfortunately, as I have several accounts, rather than sharing it to my Japan account, I shared it to my personal account. I had no idea it would go viral.
It currently has 187,239 views, 4,781 likes, and has been shared 587 times. It has led to around 700 new followers, and a barrage of trolling. People accusing me of taking the baby away from its mother, and others telling me to do awful things to it. It’s been an interesting learning opportunity. I have been overwhelmed by the response, and annoyed with myself it wasn’t on my other profile. It also has made little difference to my overall page stats, and anyone who is just waiting for that one magical post…it may not be what it seems.
