The tendril-like branches of a Japanese White Birch (Betula platyphylla) reflect in the perfectly still waters of a highland pond in the mountains outside Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
The previous day the weather was wonderful and sunny, so why didn't we see the monkeys when it snowed, and go up to the highlands the first day when it was sunny? Why, what a fine question, and it's perplexing that I have no answer. The upside of waiting until the first snow of the season to visit the mountains? A cold, foggy, snowing walk in the woods. It was an interesting way to first set foot in a place, when the landscape and plants are hiding much of their potential.
Tags: Japan Landscape Nagano Prefecture Winter birch branches clouds fog lake mist pond reflection reflections snow snow clouds tree tree branches water
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A young Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) rests on a log after climbing out of the warm waters of the onsen that draws hundreds of monkeys and tourists alike, Jigokudani Monkey Park, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
For some time prior to visiting I wondered how the monkeys did not catch hypothermia after emerging from the hot springs, as I speculated that their wet fur must inevitably become a chill, clinging blanket in the cold winter air before it could dry. As if to answer my question, this young one climbed out of the water after swimming around for awhile and made it all seem so very trivial. It simply shook vigorously for no more than 5-10 seconds, much as dogs are wont to do, and the result was what you see here: nearly dry and with a shocking resemblance to Billy Idol.
As we watched them swim, play, heckle each other, and gambol about, the scene did raise other questions. Even though the cold creek was nearby, I noticed that many of the macaques came to the onsen to drink rather than take water from the faster-moving stream. I also noticed several turds float through the same warm water quite near to where the monkeys were actively drinking. I had wondered whether the monkeys had the common decency not to crap in the hot tub, and apparently they do not. I now wonder whether the onsen are a point source for macaque coliform diseases, whether susceptible individuals simply don't survive very long, or whether the primate diet and immune systems are such that a few coliform bacteria here and there can be blithely ignored. I do know that if the Oregon Trail is anything to go by, human beings would likely contract cholera and dysentery in record time by engaging in such practices.
Tags: Japan Japanese Macaque Jigokudani Jigokudani Monkey Park Macaca fuscata Nagano Prefecture National Park Valley of Hell animal hot springs macaque monkey onsen portrait primate snow monkey wild animal wildlife Shimotakai District
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A wild Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) slakes its thirst from the side of one of the hot springs in Jigokudani Monkey Park, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Before my visit to the Park, I always wondered how the monkeys avoided frost-bite and hypothermia when they exited the pools in the middle of a cold and snowy winter. While I can't say I have figured out how the fingers avoid frost-bite, I did notice that the guard hairs of the fur were particularly hydrophobic, such that a vigorous shake would leave them surprisingly dry-looking with relatively little effort. It is unclear to me how long it takes the softer insulating fur close to the skin to dry out, or if in fact it gets very wet in the first place! Suffice to say they clearly have developed a method for avoiding hypothermia, as otherwise the troop that winters near the hot springs would not be nearly as robust in size as it is.
Tags: Japan Japanese Macaque Jigokudani Jigokudani Monkey Park Nagano Prefecture National Park Valley of Hell animal drinking hot springs macaque monkey onsen portrait primate reflection snow monkey wild animal wildlife Shimotakai District
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A light dusting of the season's first snow coats a pair of fern fronds in the mountains near Jigokudani Monkey Park, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
The air was so humid and cold that the snow seemed to materialize right from the atmosphere. Due to the perversity of happenstance and planning, we opted for a hike in the mountains on the one day when visibility was near zero and temperatures were below freezing. None of us were dressed quite warmly enough, but the snow revealed details in the vegetation that caught the eye. My wife even discovered an intact spider web coated in frozen crystals. I tried to photograph it but it was very difficult given my height, it's position relative to the ground (close to it), and my lack of proper tripod (travel tripod was too short). It seems some things are best preserved in memory.
I wish I had more time to comment on people's photos here on Flickr! Work has been all-consuming of late, and the skiing has been pretty good in Colorado this year...
Happy start of spring to all!
Tags: Japan Jigokudani Winter black and white fern ferns forest floor monochrome mountains snow Shimotakai District Nagano Prefecture JP
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A grouping of Japanese White Birch (Betula platyphylla) lift naked branches into the fog and snow of autumn's first storm in the Jigokudani Mountains, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
We stayed for a few days in the mountains Northeast of Nagano, near where the winter Olympics were held in 1998. I planned a glorious all-day hike in autumn sun. Combining plans with mountain weather is apparently a fool's enterprise... Going up even higher was obviously pointless since one would be enshrouded in cloud for every moment of the effort. So we turned around and walked down-mountain instead, through meadows fringed with birch forests and bracken that gave way to cypress and a low bamboo-like plant that dominated the understory. Snow gathered quietly in the creases as we walked. The breath hung like dense smoke before becoming one with the freezing mist.
Tags: Betula Betula platyphylla Japan Japanese White Birch Jigokudani Landscape Nagano Prefecture Winter birch clouds fog mountains silhouette snow snow clouds snow storm snowscape trees Shimotakai District JP
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