"Dozens of macaques can be seen soaking in the hot springs of the Jigokudani Monkey Park in Yamanouchi on Friday as tourists revelled at the primates taking a spa day. Footage shows visitors taking photos of the monkeys as they relax and clean themselves in the hot springs with a backdrop of snow-covered mountain cliffs. "The idea of monkey and snow, for me, is not possible. Not matching. Nobody. But here, monkey and snow [...] Just amazing. Yeah," a tourist remarked. "We do not see a lot of animals in the wild when it is winter, when it is snowing. So for us it is very special to see them this way, yes, very unique," another added. Park staff Kobayashi emphasised the park's free-roaming feature for the animals, saying: "You can observe the wild monkeys in a stress-free environment, as well as the hot springs." "This is the only place in Japan where you can see monkeys bathing in hot springs," he continued. The park opened in 1964 as a facility offering up-close observations of wild Japanese macaques. Since then, it has attracted not only ordinary tourists but also researchers and photographers from Japan and abroad who come to observe the fascinating ecology of Japanese macaques."