Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen Koen)

Very fun place, worth a visit, I went to travel with my family during the winter of 2024, the snow scene is very beautiful, and I saw the legendary cute monkeys soaking in the hot springs in the snowy mountains!

If you're a nature lover who doesn't like tiring vacation like me, this place is perfect. Do stay at the nearby onsen town, mosy of the ryokan/hotel would drive you to the park. Best to visit during winter time.

The Wild Monkey Park in Nagano is a must-see attraction in Nagano. The admission fee is 800 yen per person. This time I stayed at the Japanese-style hotel in Yudanzhong Yicha. There is free shuttle bus round-trip to and from the public park. The hotel and train station are very convenient. However, all hotels and self-driving people must walk a lot of muddy roads for about 20~25 minutes before they can reach the ultimate ticket gate to see the monkey soak in the hot spring. Pay attention to the little slippery sole and the shoes will get dirty! This time, I entered the park on April 18th. It was not the snow season. The temperature was only about 6 degrees. The monkeys in the park jumped into the spring less to soak, but they kept bowing their heads to drink spring water. I don't know how to solve it?

The Shinkansen takes the bus to Nagano Station and then transfer to the direction of Tangtianzhong Station. The bus has been taken to the terminal. The station is a bit old. You can walk to Shibu Onsen Street. It takes about 20 minutes. It is nearby to find a hotel. Check in, personally recommend Shibu Hotel, Trip.com can be found. There is only one ramen shop, one seafood and food, and a そば noodle shop on the dinner street. You can also make an appointment for dinner at the hotel. After dinner, there are nine soups to soak in the street, and the hotel also has its own private soup. The best these days, the sky is full of snow. The next morning, the hotel has a car to the Wild Ape Valley Park (make an appointment when you check in), the car can only be sent to the parking lot at the entrance of the park, and then walk up the mountain (it is recommended to prepare snow equipment, punch clothes, snow boots and sunglasses), the trail up the mountain is a bit slippery, It takes about 30 minutes to go to a rest stop. Buy tickets and continue to walk there. You can see the monkeys not far away. You can take pictures of small things with the lens. I only arranged for two days. The time is a bit rushed. I suggest you can stay there for a few more days. When returning to Nagano Station, you can stop by to see Shanguang Temple. There is also a Nagano Art Museum on the side.

Wild apes gardens have their own beauty all year round, but most people are flocking to the cold winter, snow cover the whole mountain forest, and monkeys seem to be like a leisurely bathing scene. In fact, the earliest place is for tourists to enjoy the hot springs. The wild monkeys in the mountains have long seen people take a bath and have begun to learn a lot. Slowly, there are more monkeys coming to the bath. In order not to disturb the tourists to rest, so a pool is opened up. The separation of tourists It's for monkeys to take a bath. It takes 20 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the mountain, especially in winter, the ground is not only snow, but also will freeze, must not wear some heels, very dangerous, we have people wrestling along the way, I wear ordinary snow shoes accidentally fell, There is a store for renting non-slip boots at the entrance to the mountain. The mountain road is narrow and steep, so it is safer to walk in as much as possible. Come to the place where the monkeys take a bath and see the monkeys do not feed them, so the monkeys are better, will not rob tourists of bags, do not tease them, do not make loud noises. Monkeys usually come out for a while, and then go on to soak. At 4:30 in the afternoon, there will be staff feeding, holding a bucket to the snow, and then the monkeys will not soak, all ran to the shore to pick up food in the snow. This scene is also very interesting.

Be sure to plan the time because at least 40 or 50 minutes up the mountain and about half an hour down the mountain. There is a meal for feeding the monkeys at noon and 3:50 pm. The latest shuttle bus back to Nagano at night is more than six o'clock, but basically see the monkeys eating and you can go down the mountain to catch four:50. That bus is four or five, and I can't catch it. I can only take it at six o'clock.