If you’re looking for a unique experience in Kyoto, you’ll definitely want to check out Arashiyama Monkey Park. Located in the historic Arashiyama area of Kyoto, this park offers a chance to interact with some of Japan’s famous macaque monkeys.
Entrance costs 550 JPY, which is roughly $5 USD. After passing the entrance, you’ll hike for about 15-20 minutes uphill. It’s a nice hike on an easy trail that is well maintained. Soon, you’ll reach the top and begin seeing monkeys. The summit of this small mountain has a few smaller trails to walk around on to see the monkeys, as well as a little courtyard area.
At the edge of the courtyard, there is a small building that sells monkey food. This building has fenced windows, so you can stand inside the building and feed the monkeys through the fence as they stand outside. It’s like the opposite of a zoo, putting the humans inside the building for the monkeys to look at. It was so fun to feed them! They stick their little hands in and grab the food directly from your hands!
At the end, we walked up a small trail to the very top where we could see the entire monkey park and look down over all of Kyoto. This park offers amazing views of the city! I definitely recommend checking out this park. If you love animals, this is the place to go and interact with them! Check it out next time you’re in Kyoto.