Monkey Mountain at Shodoshima Island

 I've been here twice I think and Bret's been several times to show visitors around. We always have a nice time and it's a good place to see monkeys in the wild.

 For 100 yen you can feed them beans, vegetables, and other healthy snacks. There's a staff member for your safety, in case the monkeys start fighting over the food, which happens all the time. It's a little sad because obviously the stronger tougher monkeys push to the front to get the snacks, but you can throw the food out to the outer reaches of the gathered monkeys to give the outliers a shot. In my observations of watching people feed animals in these types of places, people always look for the hungriest and neediest looking ones to feed first, or the ones who can present themselves the most endearingly at the front. At least here at this monkey reserve there is a whole mountain of forest full of all sorts of things monkeys can eat, so if they don't feel like being in the mosh pit they can go find lots of things to snack on.

 You can observe so much cute monkey behavior. The grooming and cuddling is so adorable. They do get boisterous and fight sometimes, which is a little jarring but doesn't last long.

 Some of the rules posted around instruct you not to touch the monkeys or purposefully make eye contact with them, because it's aggressive.

 But they'll happily mill about you. Last time I went I had a couple of monkeys investigating my pockets and things like that but they were pretty uninterested and skittish this time around. Which is good it means people arent feeding them out of their pockets. By having only one designated feeding area it keeps them from associating people with getting fed.

 Snacking in the wild :)

 Similar to what I look like when enjoying a snack after a day's work

I love how social they are and how big their groups are. They are a big community and it's a good non abusive place to see monkeys in their natural habitat.

Onsen are the Greatest

 Especially when you have the place to yourself! Look how amazing. It's like the prefects bathroom in Harry Potter. On a cold winter day to be able to go have a scenic soak inside or out is really nice! This is a particularly nice private onsen on the island of Shodoshima which is currently in it's off season so not too many other tourists are around.

 The aesthetic dedication they have to the outside tubs is amazing!

 This is the view from another bathhouse on the same island. It's built up on a hill so you can see the sea from the baths. Probably the bath with the best view on Shodoshima.

An Afternoon Walk

Sometimes I have to remind myself that just outside my front door, in my own neighborhood, there are loads of things to see. Looking forward to warmer weather and many more everyday adventures.

Unpenji

We climbed Mt. Unpenji, at the top of which is one of the sacred 88 temples of Shikoku! There, we got the stamp we needed to complete our Imabari to Takamatsu section of the pilgrimage. It was definitely amazing in winter, although freezing. We bundled up, ate some Dango (grilled mochi on a stick), and started up!

Progress!


Angelina in repose


A repose a little higher up, I suppose.


Forging up the trail


It was cold, but steep so we were mostly sweating. Although my nose was frozen solid.

A little statue within a hollowed old tree

Statues in rows, columns, or just on there own.


Each one had a different face, different clothes, expressions, hair, accessories (including animal friends). Not a single of the over 300 were the same, although all constructed in the same manner


Apparently this guy has a lot of kids

The Shaka Nyorai, or Shakyamuni Buddha, reclined in front of a seven storied pagoda