Welcome to Takasakiyama in Ōita city these monkeys are native to Japan. They're pretty special
This is not a zoo. This is a monkey reserve they come and go freely. In fact
This is more like a Town Square and today I'm gonna be working here for the afternoon
To get a closer look at the lives and society of these monkeys.
And believe it or not they do not eat bananas.
Suimimasen (excuse me)
Let's see where exactly Ōita city and Takasakiyama are located in Japan
We start in Kyushu
Ōita's on the eastern end
Here Ōita City the capital of the prefecture and
Takasakiyama is just to the west right off the bay
At the base is the rail line and highway and behind the park entrance is pure wilderness where the monkeys live
8:00 a.m. It's time for me to start my job at Takasakiyama monkey park
You can walk a few minutes up the steps or commute there by monorail
This definitely is not the Shinkansen but it's a smooth ride to the office
All staff members must wear Takasakiyama Park uniforms
We're ready for the first task of the morning calling the monkeys down from the mountain for breakfast and a headcount
Visitors aren't allowed up the mountain. But since we're on the job you're invited to join us
We are out here to confirm the situation to see how the monkeys are doing and
See how the pack is
Reacting day to day. It's every morning they do this kind of check on the monkeys
This is when the bizarre monkey yelling started
Other staff members were higher up the mountain yelling and reporting on the population's movements
Other than our yelling the forest beyond was quiet
Monkeys feel more secure at night up on the mountain in the trees and come down together every day
We got live reports by radio saying they were coming down slowly
I'm geeing used to this if you make human voices human sounds and the monkeys know you're human
You have to make something a little bit different. That's pretty different. It's pretty different.
I wondered if it could be my presence that kept them away but then...
The troupe started to make their way down little by little like this mother and baby
Nothing... but they're out there
It's pretty cool, we've got four or five of them now coming out of the dream
Six seven eight nine
There's ten now monkeys that have come out of the forest to come and greet us.
This is morning at Takasakiyama
It's pretty cool. huh!
One of the bosses came out to let everyone know it was clear of danger
Not all monkeys commute by ground some take to the trees
The young ones ride into town on their mother's backs, it's a lot more fun that way
This is an important part of the job keeping the monkeys together so they don't go to surrounding farms
They're used to coming down to town for breakfast now, which keeps farmers happy
So what exactly are these monkeys in Japan?
Ōita is just one of many places where the Japanese macaque reside
What makes them special is that
They're the only native monkey in Japan and they get their name as the snow monkeys because no other primate lives more north than them
The Japanese macaque is the king of the cold
They can deal with temperatures as cold as minus 20 degrees Celsius
Their average lifespan is about 6 years in the wild and around 28 to 30 in captivity
monkey is saru (猿) in Japanese
The nihon saru is part of Japanese folklore and is respected
Except maybe by the farmers which is why the park exists
It opened in 1952 after World War 2 when food supplies for humans were low, and it kept the monkeys and humans in harmony
With about 1200 monkeys here. Takasakiyama's monkey troops are some of the biggest in the world
It's a family friendly place for both monkey and human
Feeding time several times a day staff fill a bucket full of barley
And I can't be late the monkeys know exactly when feeding time takes place
experienced staff moves quickly. It will be hard to move the same way my first time
You can hear the monkey speaking they know it wasn't the usual guy on duty
Paying respect to the bosses like this confused them, but I wanted to get on their good side
It really does take time to get to know the monkeys like the staff does
Sometimes feeding them different caused fights to break down
the society has rules
Thankfully I was untouchable, you know as the food guy, but they are sneaky sometimes
But they don't just guess barley it's time for dinner the sweet potato cart race
It's a way for them to show off their speed and agility to the troop
It gets pretty crazy out there like a mosh pit I'll show you from three angle's
After they get one or two sweet potatoes the troop scatters for some good eating
After you get your sweet potato you sneak of fast. Before the big guys swipe one from you
The monkey park is set up with urban services like a city. There's waste management
One of our duties is to protect and serve the public make sure humans and monkeys get along
Society has rules!
The park gives visitors a chance to see the nihonzaru society in the wild roaming free
Here are the rules you humans need to know.
1. Don't feed them.
2. Don't touch or pet the monkeys
3. Don't make fun of them. No one likes that!
4. And don't stare into their eyes
It's said if the monkey runs between your legs it brings good luck and many visitors try
It's been a pretty cool experience working here so far
after a couple of hours you start to see that a lot of the monkeys really do have
Like a personality to them you could tell by looking at their faces
It just, it just takes a little bit of time to get used to seeing their faces, I think
But yeah, you know you work here for a day. These aren't monkeys anymore. These are kind of like
Friends, You get to know them
I asked Sugimoto-san about the park, how she got started? and why this place exists?
This is a really special experience for me, to see this from the other side
The great thing about this monkey reserve is that they
Live free up there in the mountain and come down here whenever they want
As someone who had a chance to see the other side as a staff
You have to have a really great love for the monkeys to do this job
I think and you can see that by talking to
Sugimoto-san and seeing the staff really care for the monkeys that meant a lot to me
I think if you're interested in coming to Ōita
There's a lot of stuff to do if you don't want monkey food
Grab some toriten and some Japanese sake
Ready to hear about Ōita city?
Right at the airport. You're greeted with food on the luggage belt
You've got some of the best seafood in Japan like Seki Saba and sekiaji
Ōita's famous for it and also for its chicken. They're serious about it! toriten is a must
As is their karaage Japanese deep-fried chicken the city center is easy to navigate in a stop at the retro Miyako machi is a must
It really is an adventure budget airlines fly here in a little over an hour from Tokyo
and the monkeys will be waiting to
Ōita city is also one of the venues for the Rugby World Cup
It was great to spend the day working with people that are passionate about their job
otsukaresama deshita
I'll be back again to visit my friends on staff and also those living in the trees all around them and
And as we say in the nehon sashi world. Thank you
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