Nagano Snow Monkey Tour: Thermal Baths & Sukiyaki Lunch

158 Ratings

Shinjuku City

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Escape the bustling city of Tokyo and embark on a thrilling 1-day tour to Nagano Prefecture. Witness the famous snow monkeys bathing in thermal water and marvel at the illuminated kamakura snow huts. Don’t miss out on this unforgettable adventure!

Duration: 13 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Shinjuku - 7:45 am: Meet the tour guide at Shinjuku LOVE, located at 6 Chome-5-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0023.
Note:
① Directions:
From JR Shinjuku Station: Walk from the West Exit (approximately 10 minutes).
From Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line Nishi-Shinjuku Station: 2 minutes from exit E7.
② Identifying the tour guide:
The tour…

What's Included

Guided commentary during the ride to Jigokudani
Lunch
English guide

What's Not Included

Dinner
Crampons (optional, sold onboard the bus)

Additional Information

Take a day trip from Tokyo and journey north to Nagano Prefecture!
The departure from the Shinjuku area (LOVE OBJECT) is set for 08:00. Please make sure to gather by 07:45. The bus ride to Jigoku Valley takes approximately three and a half hours, with two to three stops at service areas along the way.
Upon arrival, savor a delightful Japanese-style beef…

Take a day trip from Tokyo and journey north to Nagano Prefecture!

The departure from the Shinjuku area (LOVE OBJECT) is set for 08:00. Please make sure to gather by 07:45. The bus ride to Jigoku Valley takes approximately three and a half hours, with two to three stops at service areas along the way.

Upon arrival, savor a delightful Japanese-style beef sukiyaki set meal for lunch!

After lunch, enjoy the chance to see the renowned monkeys of Jigoku Valley! These monkeys are used to human visitors, allowing for some fantastic photo opportunities. However, please refrain from touching, staring directly at them, or feeding them to ensure their safety and well-being.

If traveling between late January and late February, the tour will also include a visit to the enchanting Kamakura snow huts.

The return to Tokyo’s Shinjuku district is planned for around 8 pm (9 pm during the period when we visit the Kamakura snow huts).

As it is stipulated by the law of Japan, please wear your seat belt on the tour bus.
Please make sure to arrive at the meeting point on time. After the scheduled departure time, the tour will depart at the discretion of our staff, and latecomers will not be allowed to join the tour midway. Please note that no refunds will be issued if you arrive late.
Scheduled times and contents are subject to change depending on road conditions.
Please note that the monkeys of Jigoku Valley are wild animals and might not be present when we visit the Jikoku valley. Do not engage with the monkeys and do not stare them in the eye as they might become violent.
Please note that the monkeys do not spend the majority of their time in the water.
Please note that the lunch described above might have a different menu according to provisions.
Please note that the Kamakura no Sato Festival is only open between Jan 23 and Mar 1, 2026.
Please note that it will takes more than 30 mins by walking from the Parking Area to Jigokudani Yaen-koen
Please come prepared with non-slip shoes; crampons will be also sold onboard, upon availability
Please note that from mid-March, monkeys may not enter the hot springs depending on the weather on that day. Even in late March, on days when it snows you are more likely to see monkeys.

Location

“LOVE” (Robert Indiana)

Shinjuku LOVE Object please be there by 7:45am

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings

4.6

(158 Ratings)

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Trisha_h

Mar 25, 2026

Great Tour - Tour was awesome. Alot of driving but hiking to see the snow monkeys was well worth the drive. Seeing them in their habitat was amazing. Our guide Shin was excellent.

Review provided by Viator

Natalieromero2

Mar 24, 2026

Fun Trip - I really enjoyed the tour, the guide was so nice and she shared lots of facts about the monkeys. The driver was also very polite and helpful. Also, the sukiyaki lunch was very good!

Review provided by Viator

Neridabudd

Mar 23, 2026

Worth it - It is a long day, but really worth it. We went at the end of the season ie end of March and there were monkeys everywhere, including in the water. Little baby monkeys were so cute.

Review provided by Viator

Josh_h

Mar 22, 2026

Well organised, amazing monkeys - Well organised and efficient. Yes it is a lot of driving (approx 3.5hrs there and 4-5 back depending on traffic) but the bus is comfortable and they make a good number of stops at rest stations. The monkeys are worth the trip! Our guide - Thomas - was super lovely, gave explanations along the way and was very caring…he even ran up the hill to the monkey park to make sure he was the first one there so we didn’t have to wait for our tickets! Lunch was tasty too.

Review provided by Viator

Margaret_b

Mar 16, 2026

Great experience from Tokyo - Well organised, tasty lunch, lengthy day, good walk and many monkeys. Fabulous, essential experience from Tokyo for all animal lovers.

Review provided by Viator

Louis_l

Mar 14, 2026

Snow Monkey At Play - Long bus ride but well worth it. The monkeys were everywhere Espinal Ly in the water. To make it even better - it snowed.

Review provided by Viator

Oscar_m

Mar 14, 2026

Snow monkey tour - Two very important points: first point being that it's a 4 hour drive from Shinjuku to Nakano, second one is that from the base of the park there's a 2.0 KM walk uphill to reach the actual monkey park, not recommended for people who have issues with walking long distances or those who need to use canes. We arrived at 1:00 PM at the base and we were supposed to be back at the bus at 3:15 PM to depart; however, there was an elderly couple with canes in our tour and by the time we were leaving the monkey park they were just making it to the top as it takes about 40-60 mins if you're in a good health condition with no issues walking uphill. The time you spend at the monkey park is around 30-40 minutes since you must make it back to the bus on time. The place itself is beautiful and enjoyable but you have to be ready physically for this excursion, we overheard a lot of people who said they had not heard about the walking distance or the fact that the park was at the top of the mountain. I would recommend but please make sure you are aware of what it takes to get there. In the end we were all at the bus by 3:25 PM, but we had to wait an additional 1 and 30 minutes for the elderly couple who used canes to make it back, who only made it back that fast because Ken our guide was wonderful and managed to get transportation to get them back down. TDLR: 4.0 KM walking distance, half uphill and half downhill, the drive from Shinjuku is 4 hours total, you spend around 30-45 mins at the monkey park, could make it 60 if you get there quickly, but it is physically challenging for some. Around march it's not fully covered in snow but a mixture of mud and snow. NOT recommended if you need walking assistance

Review provided by Viator

Steve_m

Mar 16, 2026

Great experience at the... - Great experience at the park. FYI, travel time is 3.5 hours each way. Guide was helpful. Seeing rural and mountainist Japan was great.

Review provided by Viator

Bradley_s

Mar 10, 2026

The tour lasts 11 hours.... - The tour lasts 11 hours. We were in the bust for 8 hours. Lunch was great and took 3/4 hour. Walking to and from the snow monkeys took one hour which left 1-1/4 hour with the monkeys. That’s ok because once you’ve seen the snow monkeys there’s not much else to see, but it is a good trip overall. There is a lot of strenuous walking and they don’t really tell you about that.

Review provided by Viator

839stuartd

Mar 26, 2026

Monkeys were good, the rest was a little odd - Firstly, the snow monkeys are amazing and totally worth going to see. Secondly, this tour was kind of bizarre to me. I’ve done many tours in different countries and typically I’ve come to expect a lot information to be shared by the tour guides. Be that historical about a certain location, or even just about themselves, I always have found that tour guides can be very talkative and fun. It makes the trip more interesting and engaging. On this one it was very different. Don’t get me wrong, the tour guide was very friendly and gave some information but it was almost exclusively just itinerary information - I.e. were about to stop, come back at this time etc. For the first time ever, I’m not sure I learned anything. Now the bus ride is super long. I think it’s almost 8hrs total in a bus and I would never expect any tour guide to talk for even 25% of that. But it was basically silence for the entirety of the bus journey. To me, that’s very odd. The guide was asleep for a large portion of the journey back to Tokyo. In his defence, he did seem to be a little unwell so maybe that played into it. Next part that was odd was lunch. The food was decent, a good sized portion and all set up when we got there which is fine. That said, there were three of us that were solo on the trip and we were placed separately from everyone else on the tour. Like the kids table at a wedding or a small group of lepers. Overall, seeing the snow monkeys made it worth it but if you want an interactive tour or to learn anything, this is not for you. Make sure you’ve got a book to read or some podcasts downloaded as it’s mainly just sitting on a bus.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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