Snow monkeys, steaming bathhouses and Japan’s biggest ski area

Nagano: Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple & Sake Day Trip

The best-reviewed snow monkey tour on GetYourGuide by a wide margin. A local guide meets you at Nagano Station, shows you round Zenko-ji, then takes you out to Yamanouchi for lunch, a sake tasting and an unhurried afternoon with the monkeys — transport and park admission are handled for you.

• Zenko-ji Temple with a guide in the morning
• Lunch and a sake tasting included
• The forest walk to the Jigokudani monkey pool

Nagano: Snow Monkey Park, Soba Lunch and Shibu Onsen Tour

A compact half day that covers Yamanouchi’s essentials: the walk to the monkeys, a bowl of handmade soba, and a stroll through the cobbled lanes of Shibu Onsen collecting bathhouse stamps. The lowest-priced guided option on this page.

• Guided visit to the Snow Monkey Park
• Handmade soba noodle lunch
• Shibu Onsen’s lanes and bathhouse stamp rally

From Tokyo: Snow Monkey 1-Day Tour with Beef Sukiyaki Lunch

The classic one-day coach trip from Tokyo and one of the most-booked snow monkey tours on GetYourGuide. It is a long day on the road, but everything is arranged: the drive into the Nagano mountains, a sukiyaki lunch and time on the trail and at the pool.

• Round trip by coach from Tokyo — no train changes
• Beef sukiyaki lunch included
• Free time at the Jigokudani monkey pool

Tokyo: Private Snow Monkey Park & Nagano Scenic Day Trip

A private car and driver from Tokyo for a price that, split between a few travellers, undercuts most private tours. The driver shares background on the monkeys and the mountains along the way; you set the pace at the park.

• Private vehicle with a friendly local driver
• Door-to-door from your Tokyo hotel
• Scenic mountain route to the monkey park

Snow Monkeys & Best of Nagano: Togakushi, Zenko-ji and More

A flexible private tour run by a local outfit: do just the snow monkeys in half a day, or extend it into a full day paired with a second sight such as Togakushi or Zenko-ji. Good when you want a guide’s eye for the quieter corners.

• Choose an efficient half day or a full day
• Private car and English-speaking guide
• Add Togakushi, Zenko-ji or other nearby stops

Snow Monkeys & Ghibli-like Onsen Town with Free Time to Explore

A relaxed private day built around the two places that make Yamanouchi special: the monkey park and the old wooden bath town of Shibu Onsen, with time to wander on your own, a visit to a local brewery and lunch chosen to suit you.

• Snow monkeys with a private guide and car
• Free time in the lanes of Shibu Onsen
• Local brewery visit and a tailored lunch

Nagano: Snow Monkeys & Togakushi Shrine Two-Spot-in-One Day

Two of northern Nagano’s great forest walks in one day: the trail to the monkey pool and the cedar-lined approach to Togakushi Shrine. They sit on opposite sides of Nagano city, so a private car saves hours over public transport.

• Jigokudani’s monkeys and Togakushi Shrine in one day
• Private car — two places that are awkward to link by bus
• Photos taken by your guide and sent afterwards

Baby Monkeys & Historical Onsen Town: Scenic Forest Walk

An afternoon tour for people arriving in Yamanouchi around midday: the forest trail and the monkeys with a guide, then the historic lanes of Shibu Onsen and a stop at a sake brewery before the evening.

• Afternoon start — easy after a morning arrival
• Guided forest walk to the monkey park
• Shibu Onsen and a sake brewery visit

Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park

Wild macaques in a hot spring

The only place in the world where wild monkeys are known to bathe in a hot spring. A 1.6 km forest trail from Kanbayashi leads to a steaming pool in the Yokoyu River valley where a troop of Japanese macaques warms up through the long Nagano winter.

Shibu Onsen

Nine bathhouses and cobbled lanes

A hot spring town with some 1,300 years of history, packed into a few narrow cobbled lanes of wooden ryokan. Overnight guests borrow a key and tour nine public bathhouses in yukata and wooden sandals, stamping a towel at each for good fortune.

Yudanaka Onsen

The gateway hot spring town

The end of the Nagano Electric Railway and the front door to Yamanouchi: a lived-in onsen town with a day bath beside the station, family-run ryokan, footbaths and buses to the monkeys and Shiga Kogen.

Kanbayashi Onsen & the Monkey Trail

The forest trailhead

A hushed cluster of inns and cafés among tall cedars at the start of the path to the monkey park. From here the Yumichi trail runs level through the forest to Jigokudani and the old Korakukan inn, where the monkeys’ bathing habit began.

Shiga Kogen

Olympic slopes and highland ponds

A volcanic plateau above Yamanouchi, 1,300 to 2,300 m high, inside a national park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In winter its 18 linked ski areas form what is generally called Japan’s largest ski resort; in summer and autumn it is cool hiking country of ponds and marshes.

Mount Yokote & Shibu Pass

A 2,307 m summit by lift

The highest point of Shiga Kogen you can reach without hiking boots. An outdoor escalator and a chairlift carry you to a summit with views across to the Northern Alps, a mountain-top bakery and, in winter, trees cased in frost.