1-Day Tour: Snow Monkeys & Snow Fun In Shiga Kogen

This exciting one-day tour combines a visit to the famous Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani with a morning of fun in the deep powder snow of Shiga Kogen – Japan’s largest ski resort! Including lunch and led by a locally-based, English-speaking guide, this tour follows a simple equation: snow monkeys + lots more snow = big fun in Shiga Kogen!

Is this tour not available on the day you were looking for? Please visit this page for information on Private Tours, or click HERE to inquire about a custom-made tour for your group.

Highlights

• Discover Shiga Kogen – Japan’s largest ski resort! – and have fun snow-scooting, snow-biking, and sledding in the beauty of the snow-covered landscape
• Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant at the ski resort
• Visit the world-famous Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani and learn all about what makes them so unique
• With multiple pick-up points in Nagano City, Yudanaka, Shibu and Kanbayashi Onsen – nearby the monkey park!

Want to joint this tour from Tokyo? It’s easy to do! Scroll to the bottom for our FAQs including train services that can you use to join the tour!

Description

This tour has multiple meetup points in Nagano City along with Yudanaka, Shibu and Kanbayashi Onsen. Your guide will have guests board the bus quickly and on its way high into the mountains. As Japan’s largest and highest ski resort, Shiga Kogen’s proximity to the monkey park make it the perfect destination to experience Nagano’s powder snow!

You will be transported to the ski fields of Maruike – one of Shiga Kogen’s many ski areas – for a morning of snow fun, with an activity area sectioned-off for you to enjoy using snowscoots, snowdrives, and good old-fashioned sleds and tubes. Suitable for the whole family, guests who get their confidence up have the option of heading-up a nearest ski lift, accompanied by the guide.

While there, you’ll have time to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, looking onto the ski field. Your guide will provide you with a lunch coupon which can be used to select your lunch at the restaurant with options including katsu curry, katsudon, hamburger steak, pizza, sansai soba, and different types of udon. Plenty of choice to warm yourself before heading out of the mountains and toward your next stop, Kanbayashi Onsen – home of the Jigokudani Monkey Park.

Arriving at Kanbayashi around 13:20 your guide will lead you along the forest trail in the monkey park, where you’ll be introduced to these truly curious creatures. As the only troop of monkeys in the world known to bathe in hot springs, the monkeys of Jigokudani have reached global fame and observing them go about their monkey business – foraging, wrestling, grooming and of course, soaking in the hot spring – is a must see when in Nagano!

You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy with the monkeys before heading-out of the park and boarding the bus around 16:00 with the tour concluding back at Nagano Station around 17:30 with drop-off at Yudanaka Station (if required) along the way and Hotel Kokusai 21 (please note, due to weather and road conditions in winter, tour end times cannot be guaranteed).

MEETUP POINTS

This tour operates from multiple pick-up points with Nagano Station being the main / default meetup point. This is a group tour therefore please ensure you are at your selected meetup point prior to the meetup time to avoid any chance of missing the tour bus. The tour will need to depart on-time:

1 / HOTEL KOKUSAI 21 @ 08:20

The meetup point is at the entrance of Hotel Kokusai 21. Please note that this is group tour and there are other pick-up points therefore the tour will need to depart on-time. Please be at the entrance prior to the meetup time and look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag. The tour will need to depart on-time.

2  /  NAGANO STATION @ 08:45 — MAIN MEET-UP POINT

The meetup point is inside Nagano Station, in front of the Information Board directly across from the Shinkansen ticket gates. Please be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag and please be waiting before the meetup time as the tour will depart on-time.

3  /  YUDANAKA STATION  @ 09:30

Please wait on or near the stairs of Yudanaka Station on the side with ticket gates and office. There is no other access to the platform and the station is very small, so it should be clear where to wait. Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag and please be waiting before the meetup time as the tour will depart on-time.

4 / SHIBU ONSEN VISITOR CENTRE @ 09:35

The meetup point is in front of the Shibu Onsen Visitor Centre. Please be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag and please be waiting before the meetup time as the tour will depart by on-time.

5 / HOTEL SENJUKAKU, KANBAYASHI @ 09:40

The meetup point is at the entrance of Hotel Senjukaku. Please note that this is group tour and will need to depart on-time. Please be waiting in the lobby from 09:30 onward for departure at 09:40Please be at the entrance prior to the meetup time and look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag. The tour will need to depart on-time.

*Please note, due to weather conditions and operational requirements, the tour itinerary can on occasion be reversed. This would mean visiting the monkeys in the morning followed by lunch and afternoon visit to Shiga Kogen. It is not common and if required, the overall content of the tour remains the same with the same start and end times.

NOTES

Included

• Transportation from / to Nagano Station and all listed destinations
• Snow activity fees in Shiga Kogen
• Entrance fee to the Snow Monkey Parking
• Lunch (vegetarian options are available)
• English-speaking guide

Excluded

• Shinkansen / ‘Bullet Train’ ticket to / from Nagano
• Rental boots (if required)
• Rental clothing including snow jackets & pants (if required)
• Skiing or snowboarding at Shiga Kogen
• Additional snacks, food & drinks
• Accommodation

What to bring

• The temperature in Shiga Kogen is cold and could be as low as -5°C to -15°C. Please be dressed in warm, waterproof clothing and boots for snow activities. If required, clothing including snow jackets, snow pants, and snow boots can be rented from us (JPY 500 per piece). Please note that there is limited availability for snow outfits, so if you have waterproof, warm clothes fit for snow activities, please bring these with you on the day of the tour. 
• 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. Snow fun activities also require guests to be of reasonable fitness and mobility to enjoy. If you have concerns about your or a member of your groups ability to handle the conditions, please contact us to discuss prior to booking. Rental boots (JPY 800) are available close to the monkey park, if required. Crampons (metal spikes that attach underneath your shoes/boots) can also be purchased, if required.

Other Information

• The transport used for this tour depends on the size of the tour group. For smaller tours groups, we will use the express train service from Nagano Station to Yudanaka Station followed by a private vehicle to and from the ski resort. For large groups, we may arrange our own transport i.e. small tour bus, from / to Nagano Station and all listed destinations.
• The tour itinerary can be reversed and we may visit the monkeys first followed by lunch and Shiga Kogen, depending on weather and road conditions and other factors on the day. We do so in an effort to provide guests the best possible experience on the day.
• 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.
• 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.
• If snow conditions are inadequate to conduct the tour, we will endeavour to notify guests in advance of the day and provide the option of switching to our 1-Day Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple & Sake Tour.
• Infants (0-5) are free of charge. An infant lunch is not included and the order will be made directly to the restaurant according to your needs. We also cannot guarantee that a seat on the tour transport will be available for infants and they may be required to sit in the lap of an adult.
• 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 tour application deadline is 1 day before the tour date at 17:00.