For years I have wanted to visit the snow monkeys in Nagano, Japan. It's only a four hour car drive from where I live, but somehow, even after years of living in Japan, I have never made it before. Unfortunately, the snow monkeys have been much touted on social media lately, and tourists from all over the area are flocking to see them. During the thirty minute walk through the woods from where we parked the car to the hot spring where they congregate, we heard accents from all over the world, especially from Europe and China. When we got to the snow monkey area, there were people everywhere photographing the monkeys, with everything from fancy DSLR cameras to smart phones on selfie sticks. So, I had to stick out my elbows and squeeze through the crowds to get near the monkeys. Once I had a good position, I focused my 70-200 lens on them and waited for the good expressions. They did not disappoint. They spent the majority of their time grooming one another and relaxing in the hot springs, but they also had occasional violent fights that usually ended with one monkey screaming and running off, and then sulking for awhile. There were monkeys of all ages, from adults to wee kids, and they all had individual faces and personalities. I was captivated, and could have watched them for hours, but we had to get home after a tiring couple days of skiing and snowboarding. Unfortunately, we didn't have much snow, so I couldn't get photos of the snow monkeys with snow on their heads, as you often see in photos of them, but I did get some great expressions, and was happy with the outing.