They can not. Visitors aren't supposed to even touch the monkeys anywhere in the park, though I certainly saw a lot of people doing so during my visit.

The monkey park in Kyoto is probably better if you want to have a direct experience with the monkeys that is sanctioned and safe. They allow feeding of the monkeys through a grate that the monkeys can reach through to take the offered food.

I think the deer of Nara would better appreciate the company.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0na/021000c

Interesting...and I don't doubt that it may be true. We didn't witness anything like that in our time.
You definitely can't (and I don't think would want) to share the hot springs - my recollection was that it looked pretty dirty.
There is one ryoken that overlooks the onsen w/ the monkeys - the ryoken has their own hot springs, you can sit outside, and observe the monkeys in theirs (from about 100m)
It's unfortunate that many "wildlife" situations are as was described...although again, we did not see any harassment of the monkeys in our 24 hrs there.

I love the Nara deer, even if they can be a. bit aggressive if they think you have food, but free ranging monkeys (Bali, not Japan) scare me.