Kanbayashi Onsen is the highest and quietest of the valley’s hot spring hamlets, a handful of inns, a museum and a few cafés under tall cedars at around 800 m. Writers and painters favoured it in the early 20th century as a cool retreat. For today’s visitors it is above all the trailhead for the Jigokudani monkey park.
From the end of the road the Yumichi (“hot spring path”) runs for about 1.6 km along the hillside. It is wide and almost level, shaded by cedar and larch, with signboards about the monkeys along the way. At the far end the valley opens: the wooden Korakukan inn stands by the river beside a spouting geyser, and the park entrance is up a flight of steps beyond it.
Top things to do: Kanbayashi Onsen & the Monkey Trail
Walk the Yumichi trail
Allow 25–40 minutes each way. In snow it is one of the loveliest short winter walks in Nagano; in summer it is cool and green. Monkeys sometimes appear on the path long before the park — the same rules apply: no touching, no food.
See Korakukan and the geyser
The Korakukan inn has stood in the valley since 1864 and is where monkeys first took to bathing. Just beside it the Jigokudani geyser, a natural monument, throws up hot water and steam — the reason the valley is called “hell”.
Warm up at the trailhead
The cafés and shop at the trailhead serve hot drinks, ramen and snacks, and rent boots, crampons and warm clothing in winter. Near the bus stop, the Shiga Kogen Roman Museum shows local art and glass in a building by the architect Kisho Kurokawa.
How to get there
- By bus: local buses from Yudanaka Station stop at Kanbayashi Onsen; the express bus from Nagano Station stops at Snow Monkey Park on the main road. Both are a 5–15 minute walk from the trailhead.
- By car: there is paid parking near the trailhead. A second, closer car park on the Jigokudani side is reached by a narrow road that is closed in winter.
- On foot from Shibu Onsen: about 30–40 minutes uphill by road.
Insider tips
- Toilets are at the trailhead and at the park, with none in between.
- In January and February the path can be sheet ice by afternoon. Slip-on crampons make a real difference.
- To have the trail nearly to yourself, stay in Kanbayashi or start walking as soon as it is light.
Best tours & tickets: Kanbayashi Onsen & the Monkey Trail
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Kanbayashi Onsen & the Monkey Trail and the rest of the Yamanouchi area:
Private tour from US$136 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
Afternoon guided tour from US$88 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
Guided day trip from US$138 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
