A Winter Guide to Visiting the Snow Monkeys at Jigokudani Monkey Park – Nagano, Japan

January 2025

A Winter Guide to Visiting the Snow Monkeys at Jigokudani Monkey Park – Nagano, Japan

One excursion that attracts visitors to Nagano from all over the world is the famous snow monkeys. Featured on National Geographics for their human like behavior utilizing the hot springs to get warm in the wintertime, visitors travel to Nagano for the chance to see this with their own eyes. 

So what makes the snow monkeys so special?

These particular Japanese macaques – known as the snow monkeys – gain notoriety due to their human like behavior of using the natural hot springs to stay warm. This is the only troop of monkeys in the world known to behave in this way which is why they are so famous and featured on NatGeo documentaries. In fact, monkeys in general do not like getting wet which is why this behavior is so fascinating. The monkeys also do not require the hot springs for warmth or survival as they are well adapted for the cold weather. The story goes that the snow monkeys observed humans soaking in an onsen guesthouse in Karakukan and copied the behavior. Jigokudani Monkey Park was established in the 1960s as a conservation measure and set up rules for visitors to protect the monkeys and prevent bad human behaviors such as feeding the snow monkeys. The park does not have barriers that separate the monkeys from humans but the monkeys are not aggressive and are accustomed to humans being present in the park. Since the primary reason that is assumed for the snow monkeys using the hot springs is for warmth, the park is relatively quiet with hot spring activity in the summer months but thrive in the winter time. 

While some try to do this as a day trip from Tokyo, I (like many other bloggers) do not recommend it as it is the longest day trip with too many moving parts for only the chance to see the monkeys in action. Plus there is quite a bit to Nagano to enjoy so if seeing the monkeys is high on your Japan bucket list, consider staying a night or two in or near Nagano and treat yourself to a ryokan onsen experience to monkey-see monkey-do.

Note that there are many tour offerings that can make this a hands off planning journey for you but it is important to know that most of these tour companies arrive to Jigokudani Monkey Park after lunch which is when snow monkey activity declines. The best chance you have at seeing the snow monkeys is in the morning before lunch time.  

Tickets 

Getting to the snow monkeys takes a bit of planning. There is a bus that travels from Nagano train station to the Jigokudani Monkey Park where you then walk a significant amount to reach the monkeys. You can purchase individual bus tickets for 1800 yen each way or purchase the Snow Monkey Pass for 4000 yen which also includes admission into the park itself which is 800 yen so it makes the most sense to buy the Snow Monkey Pass. You can do this online or in person at the Nagano train station – buying online does not save you a step in having to physically go to the ticket stand as you only get a voucher and not the actual ticket. So we opted to just buy in person. The ticket office is outside the Nagano train station platform down to the Nagano Dentetsu Line. There are two kiosks by the train station entrance that sell the Snow Monkey Ticket by pressing “discount ticket” on the kiosk. Once you have your ticket – do not go onto the Nagano Dentetsu train station – you are looking for a bus. I am not sure why they do it this way as I believe it confuses many tourists into getting on the train and having a much longer, more difficult journey to the snow monkeys. 

How to Get There 

The bus platforms are on the opposite side of the train station so exit Nagano Dentetsu area, enter back into the Nagano train station and walk out and down to the left. There you will find two bus stops – 23 and 24 – as well as staff for the snow monkey park that guide the people around. There are seasonal timetables and I would highly recommend grabbing one physically so you know the bus schedule as it does change. This will help if you lose service into the mountains so you do not significantly miss a bus or return times since these do not run all evening. Also expect quite a queue for the buses in both directions so getting to the bus at least 15 minutes ahead of the bus you wish to take is advised if not more. Leaving on the first bus in the morning is a good strategy to ensure you get adequate time without fighting people on the later afternoon buses to get back to Nagano. 

Once at the snow monkey park, expect to be walking for at least 45 minutes to reach the snow monkey area. There is a walk through the parking lot and up the road that takes visitors to the entrance of the forest. Then there is the walk through the forest that leads to the stairs that goes up to the ticket office for the snow monkeys, and finally there is the actual area where the snow monkeys generally hang out. PRO-TIP: Do yourself a favor and time yourself from when you get off the bus to when you reach the snow monkeys. Then you will have an idea of how long it will take to make a bus that gets you back to Nagano.

Our Experience 

Since we arrived from Kanazawa in the morning, we aimed to get the 10:10AM and there was already a significant line but we were lucky enough to sneak on. We arrived at Jigokudani Monkey Park at 11AM. Our visit was in the winter time and recent reviews had me a bit nervous about the conditions and many stated the sheets of ice made the walk to the monkeys extremely difficult with many people falling. Since we visited on a sunny late morning I was hoping that perhaps we would get some luck from the sunlight to assist with the conditions. There was also a monkey that made its way all the way down here and was just walking along like it was running an errand so the fact that we got a monkey sighting already was a win.

The parking lot to the base of Jigokudani Monkey Park was not great as most of it was a sheet of ice but there were pockets of blacktop that could be found thanks to the sun and the people that walked this area earlier in the day. We arrived at the base which has a gift shop and info center in just under ten minutes of walking. Here, you can rent and purchase winter gear if you did not come prepared – even selling crampons for 4000 yen (a bit steep!) and given the reviews I read I even considered the splurge but decided instead to see how bad the conditions were and could always backtrack if needed. 

The first section was a bit intimidating as the ice covered stairs ascended up but I found a railing that I had a solid death grip on and I was good. Luckily that was the end of stairs and the rest of the journey was a relatively flat walk and while there was ice, it was manageable if you took your time and paid attention. At one point there is a section where there are trees with a drop off on one side and there is a waterway on the other which feels a bit cruel for the winter walk but it was still ok. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the entrance of the snow monkey park. And I must say, this walk in winter time – despite the danger of slipping – was absolutely gorgeous. The snow covered trees were simply beautiful and high in the mountains the views of the trees were endless. It really added to the experience for this to not just be a walk to the monkeys but that the walk was super scenic. 

Since we had our ticket already through the Snow Monkey Pass, we got to skip the ticket counter line (I read this line can get extremely long) and we were asked to review some simple rules before entering (no selfie-sticks, no food, keep your distance, and do not touch the monkeys) arriving just after 1130AM.

We were pleased to spot snow monkeys immediately! The snow made them easy to spot as they made their way up and down the mountain side though you definitely need a good lens to capture them if these are the only ones you see. 

There are two main areas to explore – the bottom that has the river running through it where the mountain and an area higher up where the hot springs are located. We went down first and spotted many snow monkeys hanging up, some already heading back up the mountain and others playing around, foraging through the dirt and rocks, and simply being.

Then we ventured up to the clearly more popular viewing location – the hot springs. This is where you see the iconic images of snow monkeys having their spa time. And lucky for us, there were several monkeys enjoying their hot springs time. Kinda wish we were allowed in just to stay warm though I will say it is slightly less cold in the air near the hot springs. The crowd definitely gathers here but I would say the group we were around was reasonable and respectful allowing everyone to have a turn to get the photo they wanted and no one in particular hogging the space. Now, I can see where this area can be extremely frustrating due to the behaviors of other tourists and the impact it has on your experience. It did not feel particularly crowded so perhaps that was part of the benefit so I can only imagine there are plenty of opportunities to sour your experience, especially if there are no monkeys there or only one or two that everyone is fighting to photograph. 

The steam made it a bit challenging to get a good view at times and even harder to photograph but waves of wind offered some wonderful snow monkey viewing. We got to witness snow monkeys getting in and out of the water as well as grooming behaviors and some social interactions, particularly with a child/adolescent and adult snow monkey.

After viewing and photographing the monkey, we evaluated the bus time table. While we were only here for less than 20 minutes, the gap between buses was large enough to attempt to make the 12:45PM bus. It felt a bit odd to have traveled all the way here to see the snow monkeys for such a short time but at the same time, I was not sure what else there was to get out of staying. And so, we said goodbye to the snow monkeys and hustled back to the bus stop. We knew we may be cutting it close but we ultimately made it at 12:37PM with some time to spare – but the line was already quite long to get on this bus. Luckily, we were some of the last people permitted to board as we made our way back to Nagano. 

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by the experience visiting the snow monkeys. I knew there would be a chance of having a negative experience – particularly with the icy conditions, navigating crowds and bad tourist behavior, seeing no snow monkeys, and coordinating the buses – but during our trip we did not have an issue with those factors. We absolutely loved the walk out to the hot springs – it was so beautiful in the wintertime covered in snow. And observing the snow monkeys was very cool and I feel lucky we got to see so many of them enjoying their morning. I think you have to have certain expectations in mind when visiting on your own – know there are factors that can turn this day trip into a disappointing experience so that part is important going into it. If you are staying in Nagano in the wintertime, you definitely need to take a few hours and try your luck.

Continue reading all the details of our trip – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

Read what to expect in Japan – here!

My complete packing list for Japan – here!

See all blog posts for Japan – here!