On a cold day, many Japanese people swear by a nice long dip in a hot spring. They're not alone. On Monday, dozens of monkeys in the nation's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido were seen doing exactly that.
Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden, located in a hot spring resort, pumps water into its monkey park every December. Staff maintain the temperature at 40 degrees Celsius.
Many visitors came to take pictures of the monkeys.
Kayoko Kasai, the head of the facility, said it was fun to observe the similarities between bathing humans and monkeys, but also the differences.
The monkeys will be provided with hot spring water until early May next year.
