Awaji Monkey Center
About the Center
The Monkey center is located on the east site of Kashiwara Mountain in Sumoto city on Awaji Island. It was first open in 1967 and at the present time there are around 350 monkeys. Awaji Island monkeys are gentle and very sociable giving you the chance to walk among the troop without the monkeys jumping all over you and trying to steal you possessions.
Viewing time of the monkey center takes round 60 minutes. Please remember to leave snacks and food items in you car and please understand these are wild Japanese monkeys they can not be petted or picked up in anyway.
98%
April
Active season. Easy to observe!
Monkey Letters
In the photo below food has been laid out to form the Japanese charaters さる Saru which is Japanese for Monkey.
Monkey Sardines
During the winter months the Awaji Monkeys group together for warmth to form a Sarudango (lit. Saru Dumpling), only on rare occasions do small fights occur.
Grooming
Six Monkeys grooming one monkey and sometimes seven monkeys grooming one monkey which surely must be a world record.
Eight meter circle test
Inside an eight metre circle three kilograms of food is placed and we then count the number of monkeys in the circle at same time and the number of fights occurred. Other monkey centers in Japan achieve around twenty monkeys whereas at the Awaji monkey center we can achieve around 160 monkeys in the circle which demonstrates the soft and caring nature of the Awaji Monkeys
Adopted baby
No you are not looking at twins your are looking at Mother caring for an infant monkey whose mother had past away, This is a rare occurrence in Japanese monkeys but common place in the Awaji Monkey Center.
Food gathering
It is common place for Awaji monkeys to gather their food in the palm of their hand a most unusual behavior in a monkey society where food is commonly stolen each other.
Awaji Monkey Viewing Guidelines
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Do not touch the monkeys.
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Do not get too close to the monkeys.
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Staring directly at the monkeys can be dangerous.
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Do not hand small branches or pebbles to the monkeys.
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Do not run or shout inside the park.
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Bringing food into the park is not allowed.
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Pets are not permitted in the park
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Live streaming on YouTube, Instagram, etc., is prohibited inside the park.
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Please inform staff if you wish to use a DSLR camera.
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Selfie sticks are not allowed.