The water in the hot spring is about 42 degrees Celsius – perfect for keeping warm in these icy conditions. But the monkeys can easily survive without it and seem to use the onsen more for comfort.

Some of them will sit in the pool, while others will spend most of the day running around the mountain, climbing in the forest or hanging on the river bank.

You wouldn’t want there to be too many more tourists here, though. The onsen is actually much smaller than I imagined – about the size of an average backyard pool – and you can only stand around half of it. It means there are limited spaces to get a clear view or photograph of the snow monkeys. But, if you have one of the front row spaces, you will be face to face with these cute animals.