For a few yen and a half hour hike up a mountain, you can be surrounded by lots of wild monkeys. Yes, these are the same as the famed "snow monkeys" or Japanese macaques, who photogenically hang out in hot springs with snowy brows, etc.

Visitors are advised not to look them directly in the eye, and are encouraged to feed them only from within a caged building at the top of the mountain, and for good reason. We also met a "ranger guy" riding down the trail on a mini-bike, armed with a few treats and a sling-shot to keep overly forward monkeys in line and off the guests.

We had no trouble. They were very sweet.