YamanouchiSnow Monkey Town
Japanese macaques grooming in the hot spring pool at Jigokudani

Snow Monkey Tours & Tickets

Every sensible way to see the snow monkeys, Shibu Onsen and the Nagano highlands — compared, priced and bookable in a couple of taps.

There is no single “best” snow monkey tour — there is the right one for where you are starting from. The list below is grouped by exactly that: short guided walks if you are already in Yamanouchi, day tours from Nagano, and long day trips by coach or private car from Tokyo.

Everything here is booked through GetYourGuide, which means live availability, free cancellation on most options and reserve-now-pay-later on many. Prices are indicative “from” starting points in US dollars and change with the season — tap any card for the live price in your own currency. Some private tours are priced per group, not per person.

A note on tickets: the monkey park does not sell timed tickets through GetYourGuide. You pay at the gate, or admission is included in your tour or in the Snow Monkey Pass.

Pick by where you are starting

Already in Yamanouchi or Nagano for a half day

Short, good-value guided visits that add what you would miss on your own: the story of the troop, a soba lunch, the Shibu Onsen bath circuit and a brewery.

The wooden entrance of the first public bathhouse, Hatsu-yu, in Shibu Onsen Half-day guided tour from US$76
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Yamanouchi ⭐ 4.9 (14)

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
Check price & availability
Two snow monkeys sitting close together at Jigokudani Monkey Park Private tour from US$136
🕒 5–9.5 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 4.9 (57)

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
Check price & availability

A full day from Nagano

Nagano Station is the natural starting point. Pair the monkeys with Zenko-ji and sake, with Shibu Onsen, or with the cedar forest of Togakushi.

Japanese macaques at the hot spring pool of Jigokudani Monkey Park Guided day trip from US$138
🕒 8–12 hours 📍 From Nagano Station ⭐ 4.9 (978)

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
Check price & availability
A lamp-lit lane in Shibu Onsen at night Private day tour from US$191
🕒 7 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 5.0 (12)

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
Check price & availability
The cedar avenue leading to Togakushi’s inner shrine in the snow Private day tour from US$202
🕒 8 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 4.9 (46)

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
Check price & availability
Mist over Kido Pond and white birches in Shiga Kogen Private nature tour from US$189
🕒 9 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 5.0 (7)

Nagano: UNESCO Nature, Autumn Colours & Local Highlights Tour

The green-season alternative to the monkeys: a guided day in the Shiga Kogen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with a walk through highland forest to the vivid Onuma Pond, local specialities to taste and photos from your guide.

  • Walk to the emerald Onuma Pond in Shiga Kogen
  • Highland air in summer, vivid colours in autumn
  • Local food stops and transfers included
Check price & availability

A day trip from Tokyo

About three and a half hours each way by road. Coach tours are the cheapest; private cars cost more but collect you from your hotel and let you set the pace.

Japanese macaques soaking in a steaming hot spring in Nagano Prefecture Coach day trip from US$149
🕒 1 day 📍 From Tokyo ⭐ 4.6 (361)

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
Check price & availability

Private tours for groups, and days beyond the monkeys

Per-group private days from Tokyo that add Obuse, Shibu Onsen or a miso brewery — and two good next days once you have seen Jigokudani.

Visitors in front of the Sanmon gate of Zenko-ji Temple in Nagano Private premium tour from US$441 per group
🕒 1 day 📍 From Tokyo or Nagano ⭐ 4.7 (214)

Nagano / Tokyo: Luxury Private Snow Monkey Park & Zenko-ji Tour

For travellers who mind the journey as much as the destination: a private day in a premium vehicle, with the monkey park at its heart and a choice of Zenko-ji, the Matsushiro castle ruins, Shibu Onsen and Obuse around it.

  • Premium vehicles for the long drive
  • Zenko-ji, Shibu Onsen and Obuse on the menu
  • Snow monkeys at Jigokudani
Check price & availability
Live availability

Book now — real-time prices

Straight from GetYourGuide, updated continuously.

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The full list

Every tour we recommend

Sixteen experiences we would happily book ourselves, from a half-day walk with soba to a private day from Tokyo.

Japanese macaques at the hot spring pool of Jigokudani Monkey Park Guided day trip from US$138
🕒 8–12 hours 📍 From Nagano Station ⭐ 4.9 (978)

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
Check price & availability
The wooden entrance of the first public bathhouse, Hatsu-yu, in Shibu Onsen Half-day guided tour from US$76
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Yamanouchi ⭐ 4.9 (14)

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
Check price & availability
Japanese macaques soaking in a steaming hot spring in Nagano Prefecture Coach day trip from US$149
🕒 1 day 📍 From Tokyo ⭐ 4.6 (361)

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
Check price & availability
Two snow monkeys sitting close together at Jigokudani Monkey Park Private tour from US$136
🕒 5–9.5 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 4.9 (57)

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
Check price & availability
A lamp-lit lane in Shibu Onsen at night Private day tour from US$191
🕒 7 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 5.0 (12)

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
Check price & availability
The cedar avenue leading to Togakushi’s inner shrine in the snow Private day tour from US$202
🕒 8 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 4.9 (46)

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
Check price & availability
Mist over Kido Pond and white birches in Shiga Kogen Private nature tour from US$189
🕒 9 hours 📍 From Nagano ⭐ 5.0 (7)

Nagano: UNESCO Nature, Autumn Colours & Local Highlights Tour

The green-season alternative to the monkeys: a guided day in the Shiga Kogen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with a walk through highland forest to the vivid Onuma Pond, local specialities to taste and photos from your guide.

  • Walk to the emerald Onuma Pond in Shiga Kogen
  • Highland air in summer, vivid colours in autumn
  • Local food stops and transfers included
Check price & availability
Visitors in front of the Sanmon gate of Zenko-ji Temple in Nagano Private premium tour from US$441 per group
🕒 1 day 📍 From Tokyo or Nagano ⭐ 4.7 (214)

Nagano / Tokyo: Luxury Private Snow Monkey Park & Zenko-ji Tour

For travellers who mind the journey as much as the destination: a private day in a premium vehicle, with the monkey park at its heart and a choice of Zenko-ji, the Matsushiro castle ruins, Shibu Onsen and Obuse around it.

  • Premium vehicles for the long drive
  • Zenko-ji, Shibu Onsen and Obuse on the menu
  • Snow monkeys at Jigokudani
Check price & availability
Plan your visit

Make Yamanouchi the highlight of your Japan trip

The snow monkeys are an easy day out from Nagano and a long but doable one from Tokyo. Compare guided tours, private drivers and onsen-town walks and book in a couple of taps.

Browse Yamanouchi tours Compare all tours
Good to know

Booking questions

Do I need a tour to see the snow monkeys?

No. The park is straightforward to reach by train and bus and you pay at the gate. A tour is worth it for the guiding, for combining Zenko-ji or Shibu Onsen in one day, and for the transport if you are starting in Tokyo.

Is park admission included in the tours?

It varies. Many guided tours include the entrance fee, while some private driver services do not. The “includes” section on each GetYourGuide page lists it clearly.

What if the monkeys do not show up?

It is rare, particularly in winter, but they are wild. Tours normally still run, and refunds for an empty pool are not usually offered. Check the park’s live camera in the morning and read your tour’s cancellation terms.

Are the tours suitable for children and older travellers?

Generally yes, provided everyone can manage a 1.6 km walk each way on a path that is icy in winter. Private tours can adjust the pace. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are not practical on the trail.

Can a tour pick me up from Shibu Onsen, Yudanaka or Shiga Kogen?

Some can, including several of the private options. Check the list of pickup points on the booking page, or meet the guide at Nagano Station or the trailhead.

What should I wear?

From December to March: waterproof boots with grip, warm layers, hat and gloves. Crampons can be rented at the trailhead. In other seasons, ordinary walking shoes are fine. More in our travel guide.