[SEPT 27 ONLY] 1-Day Tour: Snow Monkeys & Local O-Fune Festival In Nagano

**PLEASE NOTE – due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and restrictions that may be placed on the festival, we are unable to offer this tour in 2022. We hope to operate it again in 2023.**

Highlights

• Witness one of Nagano’s most unique and boisterous local festivals – the Azumino O-Fune Matsuri – as residents propel highly decorated festival floats toward battle in front of the beautiful Hotaka Shrine!
• Visit the world-famous Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park and learn all about what makes the resident monkeys so unique
• Enjoy lunch at a restaurant nearby the monkey park and experience Nagano’s renowned food culture

Description

Taking place each year in September, the Azumino O-Fune Matsuri or ‘Azumino Boat Festival’ is a spirited and raucous celebration of the rural community’s mythical origins. Said to have been populated by people who came across the sea, the festival sees townsfolk pull decorated boats toward each other, choreographed to collide in front of Hotaka Shrine. Including reserved seating at the festival, along with a visit to Nagano’s world-famous Snow Monkey Park and lunch, this fun one-day tour promises to introduce you to rural Japan in a very local (and somewhat wild) way!

*Please note that the O-Fune Festival is shown in the first minute of the above video. The ceremony depicted later in the video – taking place on a lake – is a separate (related) festival held each October in Kamikochi. That festival is not part of this tour.

The tour begins at Nagano Station at 08:30, where your guide will greet you and quickly have you on your way out of Nagano and headed toward the Jigokudani Monkey Park. Arriving nearby the park, your guide will lead you along the forest trail which leads you to the ‘Jigokudani Valley’ – rather dramatically translating to ‘Hell’s Valley’. Home to the only troop of monkeys in the world known to bathe in hot springs, there are no barriers separating you from the wild monkeys, making this a unique and memorable experience.

From there, it’s time to head to lunch at a nearby restaurant. As one of Japan’s largest food producing regions, Nagano’s food culture is renowned and your guide will always be happy to talk all things food as you sit down to an enjoyable autumn lunch around 13:00. Well-filled by lunch you then board the tour bus and make your way toward Azumino. Set against the dramatic background of the Northern Alps, this beautiful rural area is well-known among Japanese and only now coming to the attention of international visitors.

It is said that Azumino takes it names from the ‘Azumi’ people, a clan of skilled navigators who travelled from the distant south to settle away from the coast, on fertile plains 500 meters above sea level – with dramatic peaks rising to over 3000 meters above. The voyage is said to have taken place during the 7^th century and to this day is celebrated annually in the much-loved ‘Azumino O-Fune Matsuri’.

Taking place over two days, the highlight of the festival occurs on the second day when local residents pull large and colorfully decorated floats resembling the fabled ships that once sailed from the south, toward a boisterous but well-spirited battle in from of Hotaka Shrine. Arriving around 14:15, your guide will take you around the beautiful shrine before having you in your reserved seat to witness the battle of the boats between 15:00 and 16:00. With one ship considered male and the other female, the collision of the two is symbolic of a wish for fertility and the successful continuation of the Azumino community. Local, loud, and a whole lot of fun, this festival is a great way to experience Japanese culture at its most enjoyable!

Once festivities have drawn to a close, your guide will have you back onboard the tour bus and headed back to JR Nagano Station where the tour is scheduled to conclude by 17:30*.

*The tour’s end time is an estimate and may be affected by crowd numbers and traffic conditions nearby the festival.

TOUR MEETUP POINT

1  /  NAGANO STATION @ 08:30

The meetup point is inside the station, in front of the Information Board directly across from the Shinkansen ticket gates. Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag.

NOTES

Included

• Transportation fee from Nagano to the Snow Monkey Park and Azumino O-Fune Festival
• Snow Monkey Park entrance fee
• Reserved seat at the Azumino O-Fune Festival
• Lunch (vegetarian options are available, please let us know beforehand)
• English-speaking guide

Excluded

• Additional food, snacks and drinks
• Shinkansen / ‘Bullet Train’ tickets

Other Information

• There will be a lot of walking on paved and unpaved roads so please wear suitable shoes.
• This tour is not wheelchair accessible and may not be suitable for mobility-impaired travellers. Should you have any concerns about your ability to join the tour, please contact us to discuss prior to booking.
• There are a few days in the year that the monkeys might not come down to the park. In such case we will provide an alternative activity.
• Infants (0-5) are welcome to join the tour free of charge and as such, do not receive lunch. If food is required, please order and pay directly at the restaurant.
• The tour application deadline is 5 days before the tour at 17:00