Monkeying around in Kyoto

Fourth day in Japan. Another bright and sunny day, frosty and cold. After an early breakfast at our local friendly cafe, we caught a tram, on the only remaining tram line in Kyoto, to the extreme west of the city - an area called Arashiyama.




Here the city abruptly meets the mountains, and in them there mountains there be monkeys! Lots of monkeys!! Japanese macaques or snow monkeys to be precise, a species endemic to Japan. We hiked for half an hour up the mountain, learning about the habits of macaques - such as this one....








Yes, looks like they eat 'beatles' - so Paul McCartney had better be careful.
At the top, the macaques were everywhere...












... and if you went in a cage (the humans not monkeys in the cage) you could feed the monkeys through the bars. The cage is for safety, as these guys can be pretty aggressive at times. They are a wild colony and not tame.




Then back down the mountain, a walk through a bamboo garden, visits to a few assorted shrines and temples, and up to the top of Kyoto's tallest landmark, the Kyoto tower.....








... before a well earned beer from the ubiquitous vending machines.

Location:Inabadocho Inabadocho,Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto,Japan