Japanese Snow Monkey 1-Day Tour
Get up close and personal with Japan's famous snow monkeys!
Experience Nagano Prefecture's unique Jigokudani Monkey Park, where you can watch Japanese snow monkeys escape the cold by bathing in the park's warm, natural hot springs surrounded by snow. After the park, relax and re-heat your own feet in an ashiyu, a hot spring foot spa, before returning to Tokyo. This tour also includes a buffet lunch.
What exactly are snow monkeys?
The Macaca fuscata, or Japanese snow monkey, is the world’s most northernmost living non-human primate. Native to Japan, these monkeys are known for their intelligence, which can be displayed by their affinity to washing food as well as making snowballs. You can find these special creatures bathing in the onsen (hot springs) of Jigokudani Monkey Park, located in the mountains of Nagano.
Jigokudani Monkey Park
Jigokudani Monkey Park is extremely popular not only with the native Japanese, but also foreign tourists. As this park is inaccessible by car, this tour will take you to Kanbayashi parking area, where you will walk along a snow-covered road for about 30 minutes in order to reach Jigokudani Monkey Park. When you arrive, you can watch the monkeys descend from the steep cliffs of the parks and sit near the warm hot springs.
See also: Snow Monkey 2-Day Tour with Stay in Yudanaka Onsen
Itinerary
| 9:00 a.m. |
Depart Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal for Tokyo Station. |
| 9:50 - 10:00 a.m. |
Board a Nagano Shinkansen (bullet train) bound for Nagano at Tokyo Station (105 min.). Arrive in Nagano at 11:30 - 11:45 a.m.
|
| Lunch |
Enjoy a buffet-style lunch. After lunch, travel to Kanbayashi Onsen by bus from Nagano Station (50 min.) and walk from the bus stop to Jigokudani Monkey Park (30 min.). |
| Jigokudani Monkey Park |
Observe wild Japanese macaques -- known colloquially as "snow monkeys" -- soaking in the park's hot springs (30 min.). After exiting the park, return to the Kanbayashi Onsen-guchi bus stop on foot (30 min.) and take the bus to Yudanaka Station. |
| Yudanaka Station Ashiyu (Foot Spa) |
After arriving at Yudanaka, rest and reheat your feet in a rejuvenating hot spring foot spa, "ashiyu" in Japanese, near the station (30 min.). After the ashiyu, return to Nagano Station from Yudanaka Station by local train (50 min.). |
| 5:50 - 6:50 p.m. |
Board a Nagano Shinkansen bound for Tokyo (105 min.).
|
| 7:35 - 8:35 p.m. |
Arrive back at Tokyo Station. Tour ends on arrival. |
Prices
| Departure |
Adult
(12years & older) |
Child
(6-11 years) |
14 Dec 2011 - 30 Mar 2012
Wed & Fri only |
JPY 18,800 |
JPY 13,800 |
Information:
- Meals : Lunch is included.
- Pick-up service: Available at major hotels in Tokyo. Please ask more info.
- Drop-off service: Not available. Tour disbands at Tokyo Station.
- Guide: An English-speaking assistant will escort the tour from Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal to Tokyo Station to board the train to Nagano. No assistant or guide will accompany the tour on the train. An English-speaking guide will meet the tour at Nagano Station and lead it until returning to Nagano Station at the conclusion.
- Baggage: No baggage carriage service is included. Please carry your baggage on your own.
Remarks
- Different buses or trains may be used when traveling between Nagano, Yudanaka, and Kanbayashi Onsen.
- The included lunch buffet is centered around vegetable dishes, so vegetarians will be offered the same menu as other participants. Lunch may change to a Japanese-style lunch in Kanbayashi Onsen instead of the buffet. In such a case, a vegetarian option will be available, so please tell us on the day of the tour if you require a vegetarian meal.
- Walking to and from Jigokudani Monkey Park takes about 30 minutes one-way over a snowy path. Please where appropriately warm clothing and shoes that are unlikely to slip under such conditions.
- Please bring a small towel to dry your lower legs and feet after the ashiyu (foot spa).
- If the minimum number of participants required for the tour to be operated is not reached by 4 days before departure, the tour may be cancelled. In such a case, you will be contacted as soon as possible, and the tour fare will be refunded.
Other Winter Tours and Ski in Japan
How to Book
Please fill in and send the dedicated tour application form by clicking on the image below. Once we have received your details, we will get back to you as soon as possible with information regarding your tour!
