Gallery: Gratuitous photos of monkeys in hot springs

We’ve waxed poetic about traveling to see these hot tubbing snow monkeys before, and this new set of winter photographs is just too nice to ignore.

In Jigokudani in Yamanouchi, Nagano prefecture, more than 100 wild Japanese macaque make daily trips to the Yaen-Koen (Monkey Park) to play, doze and pointedly ignore gawking visitors as they bathe in man-made open-air hot springs.

Although the temperature remains below zero and as much as 100 centimeters of snow can accumulate in the valley during the coldest months, the snow monkeys faithfully make daily trips to the onsen -- many staying for hours (fun fact: Monkeys don’t feel cold after taking a bath, as their fur protects against sudden changes in body temperature).

Check out the latest photographs from Japan's steaming “Hell’s Valley,” taken earlier this week.

Yaen-Koen, 6845 Yamanouchi-machi Shimotakai-gun, Nagano, Japan; + 81 269 33 4379; www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp

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