1-Day Snow Monkeys & Snow Fun in Shiga Kogen Tour
4.8
56 Ratings
Nagano
Experience the best of winter in Japan with a one-day tour that includes a visit to the adorable Snow Monkeys and a morning of thrilling snow activities in Shiga Kogen, the country's largest ski resort. Join us for a day of snowy adventures and unforgettable memories!
Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Shiga Kogen Ski Area - You will be transported to the central area of Ichinose for a afternoon of snow fun, with an activity area sectioned-off for you to enjoy using snowscoots, snowdrives, and good old-fashioned sleds and tubes. While at the resort you will also have time for lunch a restaurant next to the ski fields - included in the price of the tour.
  • Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park - Meet these truly curious creatures and have time to enjoy the unique experience of observing them in close proximity
What's Included
  • Round-trip transportation from Nagano Station
  • Snow Monkey Park entrance fee
  • English-speaking guide service
  • Included lunch with vegetarian options
  • Snow activity expenses covered in Shiga-kogen
What's Not Included
  • Shinkansen / ‘Bullet Train’ tickets to / from Nagano
  • Rental clothing including snow jackets, pants, and boots
  • Additional snacks, food & drinks
  • Accommodation
  • Skiing or snowboarding at Shiga Kogen
Additional Information

Embark on a thrilling day-long excursion that brings together a memorable trip to the globally renowned Jigokudani Snow Monkeys and a delightful morning steeped in the thick blanket of snow at Shiga Kogen, Japan’s most expansive ski resort. The tour, complete with lunch and supervised by an English-speaking guide based locally, sticks to an uncomplicated formula: snow monkeys combined with an abundant snowfall equals a joyous time in Shiga Kogen!

  • Guests are required to walk in and out of the monkey park along a 1.6km / 1 mile trail. In winter, the trail and park will be affected by snow and ice. This walk should not be attempted by anyone who is mobility impaired, in a wheelchair or cannot confidently walk an extended distance over snow and ice. If you have concerns about you or a member of your group’s ability to handle the conditions, please contact us to discuss prior to booking.
  • This tour does not include skiing or snowboarding, nor is there the time to arrange your own skiing and snowboarding while at the resort.
  • There are a few days in the year that the monkeys might not come down to the park or that the monkeys leave the park early. While this is unlikely to happen, it is possible and is outside of our control.
  • While unlikely, should weather or road conditions make it impossible to access Shiga Kogen, we would switch the activity to a visit to Zenko-ji Temple. As we cannot confirm weather conditions until the day of the tour, we would not be able to notify guests of the change in advance.
  • Infants (0-5) are free of charge. (No tour meal is included. Please order foods directly from the restaurant.)
  • This tour is insured however as the guest, you are required to have your own travel insurance which covers snow activities including riding chairlifts and using snowdrives, snowscoots, sleds, and tubes. Please confirm that your insurance policy covers this activity prior to the tour.
  • The temperature in the Shiga Highlands in the winter is cold and can be minus 5 – 10 degrees. Dress in warm, waterproof clothing and boots for snow activities. Snow outfits (snow jackets, pants, gloves, snow boots) are available to rent for ¥500 each. Crampons may be purchased at Snow Monkey Park, if needed.
Location
Nagano Station
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(56 Ratings)
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Sarahmaria91
Mar 15, 2024
Great tour - What a great tour. Our tour guide Kunihiko Endo was wonderful. So helpful and informative. He was prompt and understanding. Tour itself was amazing, so much fun with all the toys and a great walk to the monkey Forrest
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thejaw33
Mar 15, 2024
Great day! - Had an awesome day, Endo was fantastic and very knowledgeable. Great for kids and adults. Would definitely recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
489shielam
Mar 7, 2024
Exceptional tour - Extremely fun snow day in Nagano. Good snow activities for non-skiers/snowboarders. Great views, too. Our guide, Kieron, was very engaging and attentive. He made sure we were safe in the activities and that we had a fun time. Our driver Taka was an expert in navigating the difficult roads. Overall, a wonderfully curated and run tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicole_m
Feb 28, 2024
Amazing Snow Monkeys experience, once in a lifetime! - We had a wonderful time in this tour. The snow monkeys are truly a once in a lifetime experience, we will take those memories with us!! Jens, our tour guide, was outstanding!! Thank you for making it an incredible experience. Highly, highly recommend !!
Review provided by Viator
313arianneb
Feb 23, 2024
KIERON IS THE BEST TOUR GUIDE EVER!! HE DESERVES A RAISE AND MORE!!! 10/10 TY KIERON! Will be back for him! - Booked this tip through Klook last minute and Kieron was our tour guide, definitely the highlight of our first trip to Japan!! We absolutely enjoyed our time here in Nagano mostly due to Kieron his hospitality, knowledge and flexibility was impeccable! He went above and beyond to cater to our needs and made us feel like we need to buy our next home here in Nagano, we loved him sooo so much as our guide! Can’t forget our amazing driver!! He was smooth, timely and skillful! Thank you so much Kieron, he deserves a raise and more!!
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Sanjua2024
Feb 20, 2024
Family fun! - It was a wonderful way to see the snow monkeys! Especially with kids! We had such a blast, and the tour guide was especially knowledgeable and friendly! Would definitely recommend!
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Napatc2020
Feb 20, 2024
Happy one day trip - We are very impressed that the guide, Mr.Endo and driver for take care of us very warm fully. We are very happy for snowing and monkey park.
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Explore33785030701
Feb 12, 2024
Amazing snow tour - We were very excited with this tour. It was amazing for our children who had first time seeing the snow. View so beautiful. Tour guide Jens was friendly and helpful
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A_t
Mar 6, 2024
Snow monkey park amazing, tour not worth the time or money - I am rating the tour, not the experience - the snow monkey park was amazing, but the tour was terrible. Someone already covered the 'bunny hill' snow activity experience in the 1-star review here, so I will not repeat that part. Our main point of unhappiness was that the guide wasted the time and shortened our time in the snow monkey park, which was the whole point of booking this tour, and the fact that the guide, when asked about that issue, became unreasonably aggressive and hostile. The guide showed up saying that 'the company sandwiched another stop' into the itinerary. We did not say anything at that point, as we were certain the 'company' would not have done it at the expense of the main attractions. The additional activity was a chair lift to the top of the skiing hill in a resort - whilst there can be different opinions on whether it is worth it or not, the reality is that we did not buy it, and therefore it should not have been 'sandwiched in' without our agreement - at least an email with a notice of plan changes and a possibility to cancel the tour if we choose not to do it. What we bought was 2.5 hours on the bunny hill and ended up spending 2, and 2.5 hours in the monkey park and ended up spending 2 hours and 15 minutes, which would have been 1 hour 45 minutes if the guide hadn't agreed to extend the trip by half an hour and make it last till 4:30 vs. 4:00 like he intended originally. The guide did not share any history or fact based information about the area or the monkey park, and became really aggressive after my question about the time that was remaining to be spent in the monkey park. We had 7 people in the group - 4 adults and 3 children. My husband and I had our own snow gear, but the family with 3 children needed winter clothes. This detail is important, cause the journey ended up being: bunny hill - chair lift - and instead of straight to the monkey park, back to the bunny hill so that the family can return the clothes. We spent half an hour there, and the family kept the clothes for the duration of the trip. So we wasted half an hour back at that resort for no obvious reason. At that point, I noticed that it was 2pm, there is only 2 hours left to be spent in the park, and we still have to get there. So I asked the guide if we will be spending 2.5 hours in the park, and his words were "more or less". I wanted to show him the description of the tour to ask why not 2.5 hours, and he just went ballistic immediately, raised his voice, became aggressive and generally very unpleasant. From this point the experience was pretty much ruined, but the monkeys made up for it a little bit. The guide ended up extending the trip by half an hour, so at least that was close to what was in the tour description. It was a cold day with a lot of snow, which was amazing to look at when in the park, but eventually we got very cold (even with our own winter clothes). We were hoping to warm up in the van, but the driver did not send any warm air to the coach, there was cold air blowing from the vents above us, while he selfishly warmed up the front area and the front window, and the guide spent the entire hour back browsing on his phone. It was a miserable cold one hour ride in a very cold van, with the family huddled in the back and us two sitting behind the driver, hoping for some heat. The monkey park is amazing, it is experience like no other. We found it would have been better if this experience was not 'scheduled' to get back to the van on time, as one can spend hours just looking at those creatures and their interactions. So if you are going to spend the money on this tour anyway, may as well get a taxi instead for this amount of cash to get to the park from Nagano station and get an admission ticket. Or take a bus to get there - once you get to the Nagano station, there are big signs everywhere indicating where the buses are, and English does not seem to be an issue there.
Review provided by Viator
Anahi_s
Feb 17, 2024
Awful experience - We did not have a good time. It was boring. Unnecessary the amount of money that was charged. Tour guide did not explain anything. He was just there with us taking personal pictures with his camera, and NOTHING ELSE. For the " snow experience " it was just a bunny hill to do a silly tubbing. Nothing important, nothing excited. And we were there on the bunny hill for over AN HOUR. This was a complete ripoff since you can go see the monkeys on your own.
Review provided by Viator