Snow Monkey Park Tickets

Until 30 November 2026 adult admission is ¥800 (children ¥400). From 1 December 2026 it is ¥1,000 at the gate or ¥880 as a dated web ticket, and ¥500 / ¥440 for children; under-6s stay free. The bigger cost is getting there from Nagano Station by train and bus or the express bus. The top-rated guided day trip is from $138 (Oct 2026) with admission, transport, lunch and Zenko-ji included.

In winter, yes. Since August 2026 the park sells date-specific web tickets up to three months ahead on its official site, and from December to April web-ticket holders get priority entry. Without one you may have to wait, and on crowded days you may be refused entry. Green-season visits are relaxed. On a tour, check the listing: some include admission, others leave it for you to pay on the day.

The monkeys come to the park all year, so you can see them in any month, though in autumn their visits are patchy because there is plenty of food in the mountains. What changes is the bathing: the park says they use the hot spring from December to March, when it is coldest. Spring brings the babies. In summer they lounge around the pool but rarely soak.

Yes, and we say so on a site that sells tours. From Nagano Station take the Nagaden limited express to Yudanaka (about 38 minutes) and a local bus (about 15 minutes), or the express bus towards Shiga Kogen (about 41 minutes), then walk about 30–35 minutes to the gate. Buy the dated web ticket first in winter. A tour adds timed transport, admission on most listings and stops like Zenko-ji Temple.

The forest walkway from the trailhead is 1.6 km, signposted at about 25 minutes; from the Snow Monkey Park bus stop the park allows about 30–35 minutes each way. It is unpaved, gently uphill, and snow-packed and icy in winter, so the park recommends snow boots and simple crampons. No vehicle reaches the gate, and wheelchairs and pushchairs cannot use the path.

Yes. The Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Nagano in 79 minutes on the fastest trains, and the park is roughly another 90 minutes of train or bus plus the walk. A private day trip from Tokyo starts from $99 per person (4.9/5 from 220 reviews, Oct 2026) and does the whole day door to door. DIY works with an early start; our from-Tokyo guide sets out both versions.

In winter, yes: wild macaques soaking in a steaming hot spring in the snow is a sight you will not find anywhere else. In summer it is a pleasant forest walk to wild monkeys that are not in the water, which is still enjoyable but a different trip. The honest answer depends on your month and your route, and our worth-it guide gives the full reasoning.

It is the only place where wild monkeys are known to bathe in a hot spring as habit. The troop learned the behaviour here and has passed it down since the park opened in 1964. The photographs of red faces, frosted fur and closed eyes in the steam went around the world decades ago, and they made these Japanese macaques, the most northerly living non-human primates, famous.

No. The park's rules are no feeding, no touching, no staring into their eyes and no getting too close, and if a curious youngster walks up to you, step away. Selfie sticks, drones and putting a camera into the bath are banned, and so are all pets. Follow the rules and the monkeys will ignore you from closer than any zoo allows. Our rules guide covers it in full.

8:30 to 17:00 from April to October and 9:00 to 16:00 from November to March, every day of the year. The park can shorten hours or close without notice for weather or monkey behaviour. The monkeys are drawn down from the mountains by a regulated feeding routine, and staff post daily updates on the park's Facebook and X accounts, which are worth checking on the morning you go.

At the ticket counter, or as a dated web ticket on the park's own site, en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp, which also offers a ticket bundled with the bus from Nagano Station and posts a winter congestion calendar. We do not sell park admission: this is an independent guide, and the tours bookable here are GetYourGuide products, most of which include admission.

No, this is an independent visitor guide. The official park site is en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp, and the admission it sells is the only official ticket. What we offer is the honest planning picture plus tours bookable through GetYourGuide, our booking partner. We earn a commission if you book one, at no extra cost to you.