Osaru-no-yama — Attraction in Nikko

Really a collection of depressed and desperate looking snow monkeys trapped in an electrified fort Knox cage with nothing to play with, and no shade except a single rusty tin shed. There's construction waste around their enclosure. No clean water either. No ropes, no trees, nothing to climb on except the covered walkway for humans. This would be unacceptable in many countries and we felt like we had to leave asap. Nothing else up the ropeway to recommend it either except a nice view of the derelict hotels of Kinugawa Onsen. Please release the monkeys or give them...

I have a mixed opinion about this place. I understand that such an attraction can be a way for kids, and adults, to interact with nature and animals. I too usually enjoy it. But the enclosure was seemingly small and I couldn't figure out if the monkeys had the freedom to leave the place at will, like in some other parks, or if they live exclusively in captivity. Based on that assumption, I'd say that you could stop there if you are passing nearby but unfortunately I wouldn't deviate too far from my journey just to...

Ropeway runs every 30 minutes so your time at the top is a minimum of 30 minutes and if you haven't finished exploring you will have to decide whether to head back down or not.

There is a viewing platform, a shrine and the main attraction the monkeys which you can buy food to hand to them with a feeding device (spoon on a stick 😜) careful thought as they do assert dominance in order to get more food for the strong so if you are with a friend you can lire the bigger ones in order to feed the babies if...