Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) are the most northern living nonhuman primates. The troupe at Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, Nagano, is famed for bathing in hot springs in order to survive the frozen winter months where temperatures can reach below -10 degrees Celsius.

A favorite destination of tourists and photographers alike, these charismatic macaques have been christened “snow monkeys”, a misnomer, as the park and the hot springs only constitute a fraction of the macaques’ activity.

By traveling to the park in Autumn and focusing on the macaques’ individual characteristics as well as their larger environment, I wanted to capture images that offer a broader spectrum of the behavior and natural habitat of these highly social primates.