Arashiyama Monkey Park - Arashiyama, Japan

Since the goal of this blog is to cover all travels- small; local; large; far; touristy/known and off-beaten/unknown, here we are. Covering the famous Arashiyama Monkey Park. Our 14-year old had never been and I hadn't actually gone up the mountain since super early hours in March 2010 (it was cold, drizzle weather BUT we caught feeding time!). I didn't have a good comparison of what it was like now or a "normal visit" to the spot.

Since it had been raining considerably all week, we went prepared with very light baggage, waters and hiking/water proof shoes. There are multiple warning for heat stroke prevention and the 20-30 minute steep walk to get to the top. Even though this is a tourist spot and beginner-friendly, it's also not to be taken lightly if you aren't used to uphill walking/hikes and the heat. On September 5th, especially in the mid-afternoon hours of 12PM, we were facing temps around 32C (89F).

The beginning of the hike/entrance is a 15 minute walk from Saga Arashiyama station (JR line) or 5 minutes from Randan (local line) Arashiyama station. We opted for the ultimate cheat and were dropped off by car, which is easy enough to do if you have someone to drive you or hail a taxi, which gives you a walk of about 1 minute.

Entrance is just as simple as always, one person in a booth to pay cash to (no electronic payments accepted). 800Y ($5.18) for adults and 400Y ($2.59) for kids aged 2-15 years old. The other side of the booth is the store with one additional staff member, which is the same way you have to come back through to leave, so I recommend not looking or shopping until you're on the way out- more on that later.

The trail up was much more paved than it was in my previous trip. There were stairs for the first 5 minutes and a pretty gentle slope the rest of the way with either pavement or solid rocks to walk on. There was a map with two way up the middle part of the climb, however the "harder" route, which I believe used to be the only route, was roped off. Internet research tells me this older route is no longer accessible by visitors.

I'll be the first one to tell you that I'm not in excellent shape right now, I'm working on it, but was a little concerned going up in the daily heat. However, with a few breaks (there are stopping points and benches along the way) and water, it wasn't difficult at all and we made it to the top in about 20 minutes total.

It wasn't too busy on the way up, I'd say we had 10 people close behind us and passed 20-25 on their way back down, but it was never difficult or overly crowded. There were two landing near the top, the first one being a "nature center" to cool off in (there wasn't anything inside, but there was A/C!) and a small playground outside with a seesaw, swings and small zipline. Up about 20 more stairs or a slope was the main landing area with the overlook (I'm missing the banana seat selfie spot here, there were too many people!) and a lot more people. With about 100 people scatters around the overlook area, the feeding house (I love this is a place where the monkeys/animals roam free and the humans have to go into the "cage") and the additional monkey view spots around and behind the house. I was surprised to see the monkeys were ONLY around and behind the house- I'm not sure if it was the weather, time of day, season or the nature of the park now. In my previous visit they could be seen the entire hike up and down as well. I was also surprised that unlike most tourist spots, they weren't fleecing tourists- there were now way more staff members to keep an eye on the monkey interactions (I counted 2 in the cabin and 5 outside), but the tourists were all not irritating or rude! Once inside the house the feeding bags of fresh fruit cost 100Y each and there was only those, cold water bottles (150Y) and a few cheap gatcha machines (200Y each) in there. Nothing to squeeze every dime from a visitor or their kids!

The monkeys get to choose if they come over to get food and it's obvious they do whatever the heck they want. We didn't see any sign of neglect or training for the amusement of visitors and even caught a glimpse of a few babies! Feeding them is fun, but honestly a visit of 5-10 minutes inside is enough for your average visitor. We opted to not take a walk behind the house (about 10-15 more steps up to another landing) as a bunch of people were gathered trying to get pictures of the babies.

It took about 20 minutes briskly walking back downhill to reach the bottom, after playing at the park for a few minutes, because fun has no age limit.

The shop on the way out had a few sensibly priced gifts such as bags, stickers, playing cards and plush toys. We picked up a pack of cards and two stickers and headed out. A successful outing that was fun and provided healthy exercise at the same time, I appreciate the park hadn't been neglected or revamped too much from my initial visit in 2010. Keep in mind, we didn't go with a ton of planning and did not catch extras like the monkey feeding time, which would definitely add to your own experience there. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting the area, as long as the weather is nice and you're healthy enough for a brisk walk uphill.

• Total cost: 2,800Y ($18.13) (for two people)
• Admission: 1,200Y ($7.77) (adult + 14 year old)
• Water: 300Y ($1.94)
• Food for monkey: 100Y ($.65)
• Merchandise: 1,200Y ($7.77)