Nikko may be a great place to go for onsens and sightseeing (especially
in the autumn when the leaves change colour), and it's the final
resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu (the guy that unified Japan), but
I believe it is also the place where that famous proverb with the
monkeys got started. Look at the picture if you don't know the one
I mean.
Of course I went expecting something awe inspiring, like
huge, wise-looking monkey statues with serious expressions and a
crowd of reverent onlookers silently contemplating the monkeys virtues.
As it turned out though, the monkeys were kinda small, difficult
to see, and had goofy expressions. Besides the carved monkeys, Nikko
is also supposed to have lots of live monkeys running around but
as it was December and pretty chilly, I guess the monkeys were all
on vacation in Okinawa or something. I was disapointed to say the
least. Apparently the (live) monkeys are famous for stealing food
and stuff right out of peoples hands, especially little old ladies.
I was looking forward to watching the monkeys in action and maybe
even roughing it up with a couple of monkeys myself. I'll be back
you monkeys.
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