Kellie Warner, Wordsmith.: February 2016

But I Wanna See the Monkeys!!

So it is about time I shared some of my tales from my latest holiday to Japan. It was December 2015 so you know, better late than never! Here is a tale about how I managed to overcome obstacles and visit the amazing Monkey Park at Arashiyama. Enjoy!

Sometimes having a chronic illness can put a dent in holiday plans. I certainly don't have huge amounts of stamina but I manage with good meds and plenty of rest. Plus coffee and sugar can help too!

Our latest trip this past December (2015) was to Japan. We have been twice before but this was our first time visiting Osaka and Kyoto. One of the things on our to-do list was to visit Arashiyama whilst in Kyoto. It promised a lot and delivered. It was a gorgeous little town with outstanding scenery and an old world feel. It was spectacular. One thing that was a must while there was to visit the Monkey Park. The Park is high up a mountain and has become popular because the monkeys seem to like it and so stay there. A ready-made tourist attraction.

The Japanese Macaques Monkeys have been an attraction for many years. There are approximately 120-150 monkeys currently living there and they are all named. There are very strict rules about how visitors can interact with the monkeys. No touching or feeding the monkeys, (you can feed them from inside the visitors hut) or making eye contact with them. These are still wild animals after all, even if they do not bat an eyelid at the amount of humans who visit every day.

Now I knew it would be a climb. You just have to look at the pictures online to realise how high up it was. I really wanted to go though, so decided we just had to.

Well aside from my chronic illness I was also by this point - about 8 days into a 10 day trip, very tired and sore. I imagine most people would have been with the amount of walking we had done. We had visited so many places and we had walked and walked.... Though mostly it was flat and not hiking up a mountain.

So imagine me - tired and sore at the best of times now attempting a walk fit people would struggle to do. It was entirely uphill and was said to take approximately 20 minutes (I think we took longer) and once you got to the top you were at 160m above sea level.

So we started off. There is a massive stairway that gets you so far and is hard going. I saw other people out of breath and stopping for a rest. After this you were still probably less than 1/4 of the way. There were more stairs at various points but mostly it was a zig zagging rough path that was incredibly steep.

Now after those stairs I was tired and sore and a bit out of breath but I was still keen. Around a couple of more bends each with seats to rest on. When I started getting wobbly I made a game with myself and would say ok 50 steps and then rest. This worked for a while. Just about half way or maybe a bit over we rested on a bench and I noticed the large map on a billboard.

I sighed and panicked. I could barely move by this point and the map showed me just how far we still had to go. I felt defeated, no amount of trying would get me there. People walked past going up and people walked past going down. One of whom was smoking a cigarette which seemed like a cruel jest. Even someone who smokes can make it up there!

So I told my husband David that that was it, he would have to go alone. He didn't want to go alone and suggested we simply turn back. I didn't respond straight away. I felt too fatigued to even get up and walk downhill. But a part of me was rebelling. Each time I said to myself or out loud that I could never make it a little voice inside me screamed 'but I wanna see the monkeys!' The more I expressed that I couldn't do it the louder that little voice inside me grew.

I'm still not sure entirely what happened. Perhaps it was that we had paid for our tickets, or that I didn't want to let David down. Or perhaps simply it was my love of animals and the fact that I really wanted to see the monkeys. Because if it had simply been a walk for the view then I would have turned back ... Ticket and all.

But we didn't turn back. I took a deep breath, and headed on and I said that we would go a bit further and see what happens. Though I knew I was actually determined to get to the top no matter what.

So we did it! Well I did it. I imagine David would have been able to do it without the hesitation and doubt. As soon as we first sighted the monkeys I knew it had been worth it. They were adorable. We watched some frolic near stones around a pond including a little baby tentatively taking a drink and trying to avoid the large well fed koi that were resident.

After a quick peek at the view we went into the little visitors hut to have hot coffee in a can (the Japanese are so clever with these thing) and to purchase food to feed the monkeys. You are required to feed them through the bars from inside the hut and not outside in the open. Presumably so they don't get too hungry and attack! So armed with my apple pieces and peanuts I proceeded to feed the monkeys.

Each monkey was an individual, though their place in the family quite obvious, There was a couple of old ones. One in particular looked like quite an elderly gent and had what seemed to be a glaucoma in one eye. His movements were very slow and deliberate. He stuffed two peanuts in his mouth and held onto a piece of apple before he departed ... No doubt he wanted to go and snack slowly and in peace!

There were some younger ones who were slightly smaller. They were fairly fast and very hungry but they were no match for the alpha males. While feeding a juvenile I heard a noise coming from the roof. The juveniles jumped down quickly just as a large monkey popped down for the roof and held out his hand to me greedily, obviously what he says goes! He was very greedy. So much so I had to get to a point where I told him firmly that there was one more piece of each for him and that was his lot!

Even the baby came for a snack. His movements were erratic and a bit clumsy and unlike his elders he took one peanut and spent an age chewing on it. Also once he left the hut he almost walked straight off the edge of the mountain, but he was saved as another monkey gently put his hand in the way and pushed him back. I don't think it was his mother, possibly an uncle or aunt or cousin. I imagine they take turns watching the baby and stop him from going off the side a few dozen times each day!

Strangely each monkey took the food from my hand very gently and graciously. I lay my hand out flat with the food on my palm and they carefully reached through the bars with one hand and took it then put it in their mouth. It really felt like they were saying 'Oh an apple piece? For me? I don't mind if I do. Thank you!'

After leaving the hut, we enjoyed the panoramic view some more and then headed down. I was dizzy with wonder and amazement by now plus going down was obviously a lot easier and used different muscles. At one point David pointed and said 'that is where you almost gave up.' It was powerful and I wondered how I ever could have thought of not making it to top ... Even if David had actually pointed to the wrong spot...

On the way down I saw people heading up looking bright red, out of breath and exhausted. I wished I had had a megaphone on me as I wanted to shout 'Keep going. It's worth it for the monkeys!' Though I am sure they realised that for themselves once they made it.

So I did something I wanted to do despite the odds. Now as happy as I was about it I am not stupid. I have not cured myself and the fact is I must have had it in me that day. I still cannot do as much as others and that is okay. Plus I knew then and know now that there would be and are consequences. I did a lot less than I wished on the last couple of days of the trip. Plus I've been very weak since I got back. I started this year in a huge flare up that I had anticipated!

So I'm not saying that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. But I am very pleased that on that particular day I was able to go a bit further than I had thought. Because the monkeys really were worth it, as was Arashiyama ... It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I highly recommend it.

Enjoy some photos!