Go on a one day trip to see the Snow Monkeys!

Overview

Meet lovely and wild Japanese monkeys in the mountainside after walking along forest trails. Enjoy seeing them bathing in hot springs, running around, eating, and digging snow holes. You can also experience hot springs, just not with the monkeys!

Highlights

Key Information

Description

This is the private tour for you, not group tour. There are about 180 species of monkeys all over the world but these Japanese Macaque monkeys are unique in that they can live under extreme cold weather conditions, including up to 10 degrees below zero! The Japanese monkeys have pinkish faces. You can enter their world as an observer, but you can't touch or feed them. Taking photos is fine. We will meet at JR Tokyo, Ueno, or Omiya Station. We will go to Nagano by Shinkansen bullet train and change to a local train and bus using the Snow Monkey 1-Day Pass which includes admission to the park. Then we'll observe the Japanese monkeys in wild nature, especially while they take a bath in the hot springs. They live in the wild, so seeing them in the park or in the hot-springs is not guaranteed, although it's quite common. The staff feed them, and the monkeys usually come to the park and take hot spring baths! In the case of bad weather such as typhoons or earthquakes, they hide deep in the mountains. It is very rare but in such cases the park itself is closed or local train stops but No refund for tour fee. Japan has four beautiful seasons. Viewing the monkeys in the hot springs during the snowy season is only available in the winter. The snow season will change every year. You can see very lovely baby monkeys from early summer to autumn. If you want, after visiting the park, you can experience hot springs yourself at a nearby facility. Zenkoji is the oldest and biggest temple in Nagano city which dates back to the 7th century. Except for special night events, you cannot enter the temple area, but it's worth watching from outside. You can also eat famous Shinshu-soba noodles there. Rough itinerary: In the morning: Meet at JR station. Move to Nagano by Shinkansen for two hours. Noon: Arrive at Nagano station. Move to the station near the mountain by local train (lunch) for one hour. Afternoon: Arrive at the local station and move to the mountain gate by public bus. Walk along the river to the park for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy watching the lovely monkeys for one hour. Go back to the mountain gate for a coffee break and souvenir shopping. Take the reverse course to Nagano. Evening: Arrive at Nagano station. Go to Zenkoji-temple by bus for 10 minutes. Visit the temple and have a soba dinner at a local restaurant. Head back to Nagano station and take the Shinkansen to Tokyo. Late night: Arrive in Tokyo. If you would like to skip the Zenkoji Temple, we can eat Japanese bento boxes on the Shinkansen. This Shinkansen is brand new and very popular. It is highly recommended to buy the tickets in advance by JR staff. For assisting the purchase and booking seats of your Shinkansen tickets, the fee is 3000 yen. Usually it takes more than one hour. Please pay that to the guide directly. Booking at least 3 days prior to your preferred date is highly recommended.