THE MACAQUES OR SNOW MONKEYS OF JAPAN

Macaques live throughout the Japanese islands including the snowy regions where, other than humans, they are the only primate who can live that far North. 

Arthur Morris

The Japanese macaque  has featured prominently in the religion, folklore, and art of Japan, as well as in proverbs and idiomatic expressions in the Japanese language.

In Shinto belief, mythical beasts known as raijū sometimes appeared as monkeys and kept Raijin, the god of lightning, company. The "three wise monkey", who warn people to "see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil", are carved in relief over the door of the famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō built in the 17th C. This was not the origin of the saying-this philosophy is credited to China, perhaps in the 8th C.

Something that macaques enjoy is communal bathing in hot springs. This is a bonding time for the troop, families and children with lots of mutual grooming and hanging out together.

In a 2018 article in Smithsonian Magazine, researchers found that "taking the waters" produced a stress-reducing hormone in macaques.

Kento Mori

One wonders at what point, early humans on the islands witnessed the macaques behavior and found that it was a pretty good idea. Communal bathing and enjoying the hot springs are quite entrenched in Japanese culture.