The Jigokudani Monkey Park is best known as the Snow Monkey Park, or the Nagano Monkey Park, famous as an observation area where people can view the Japanese Macaque Monkeys relaxing in a natural outdoor hot spring.
The monkeys found at the Jigokudani Monkey Park are all wild monkeys, but are more than accustomed to the mass amounts of people who regularly observe them in their natural habitat. Even before you reach the park itself, you are likely to come across monkeys on the path the to the pools they lounge around.
The park is located at an altitude of 850m high in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, in the middle of the Yokoyu River Valley. As such, the area is covered in snow for a large portion of the year, typically from late November to late March. During these snowy months, photo opportunities are the best as there is a unique atmosphere which makes the monkeys look especially relaxed.
The Jigokudani Monkey park is one of the few places in Japan that you will get to see monkeys up close and in the wild like this. However, as they are wild animals, there is a list of rules that you should follow for your safety and the safety of everyone else.
1: You should never look a monkey directly in the eyes.
2: Never feed the monkeys
3: Keep all personal belongings close to you, and try not to dangle anything.
and 4: NEVER try touching the monkeys
Hours and Admission
- Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm ( 9:00am - 4:00pm, November through March)
- 800JPY
- Average Time Spent: 1.5 Hours
- Official Website
Accessing the Jigokudani Monkey Park
Getting to the Jigokudani Monkey Park can be a little challenging with the use of a private car. However, it can be done, but we highly recommend that you have a reasonable level of fitness to do the walk as the easiest route to take does have about 45 minutes of walking required.
You will need to take a bus from Yudanaka Station, to Kanbayashi Onsen, which will cost 310JPY one way, and will be about a 10 minute ride depending on road conditions. From Kanbayashi Onsen, then the walk begins into the park. For your safety, we recommend that you have good hiking shoes year-rounds, but especially when snow covers the path.
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