Currently, there is a photo contest underway on Shodoshima Island. Click here for information on how to enter:

参加方法はこちら (Japanese)

Twenty-four spots on the island have been designated as places to be photographed. Today,
I’m going to introduce Choshi Valley – The Country of the Monkey.

The Country Of The Monkey @ Choshi Valley

This zoo is located along the Shodoshima Skyline, which runs east-west across the island.

The sign says ‘Nature Zoo – Country of the Monkey’, but the subject of the competition is Choshi Valley. It is literally a monkey-land with lots of adorable monkeys inhabiting it.

As it is a zoo, you might think that the animals are locked in cages, but actually they roam freely outside. The monkeys are wild, but they are used to people feeding them. That being said, you should not get too close to them. The baby monkeys are especially cute, so you might want to try and pet one, but do that and you may find yourself in trouble with angry parent monkeys charging at you. Keep your distance and stick to taking photos.

Meeting Cute Monkeys

However, there are also some monkeys you can touch. Bokkun and Aachan are two monkeys living in cages that will climb onto your hand if you reach out.

As they are quick to climb onto your hand, be sure to not miss taking a cute commemorative photo like this one.

You can also feed a pack of monkeys. The monkeys gather when the caretakers give the signal. The monkeys are in competition and try to take each other’s food. In this “survival of the fittest” world, the weaker and smaller monkeys lose out, so we tried tossing food to them.

After playing with the monkeys for a while, we headed to the observation platform on the summit to take photos of the great scenery.

Off To Witness The Spectacular View

From the zoo, it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the observation platform.

As the path is a little uneven, we quickly got tired. However, the view awaiting us more than made up for the hard walk.

There are many excellent lookout points along the way.

The summit is completely without vegetation. You can barely see the observation platform hiding behind the rocks at the very edge of the tip.

Finally, this is the amazing view from the observation platform! I have visited many places that are said to have great views, but this one takes the cake! This peak is just about right in the middle of Shodoshima, so you have a stunning 360-degree panorama view. I have never seen anything like this before! I definitely recommend that you come here after playing with the monkeys.

Choshi Valley Nature Zoo Country of the Monkey

Address: 1341 Kaerugo, Kuroiwa Aza, Tonosho, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture
Open: 8:20 – 17:00 (Last admission 16:30)
Closed: Open throughout the year
Admission fees: Adults 380 yen, Children 190 yen
Tel: 0879-62-0768
Parking: Large-sized vehicle parking available
http://www.osaru-no-kuni.sakura.ne.jp/

Photo-contest hashtag: #17choshikei

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Daisuke Chiba