Jigokudani Snow Monkeys in One Day
Train and bus from Nagano, a forest walk through the snow to the monkeys' hot spring, then bath-hopping in the lantern-lit lanes of Shibu Onsen.
Last updated 2026-09-03 · 1-day self-guided plan
Snow Monkeys & Shibu Onsen
Macaques in the bath, then a bath of your own
For winter travellers using Nagano as a base who want the monkeys in the steam and an old onsen town in the same day, without hiring a car.
- 1
Nagano to Yudanaka by Nagano Dentetsu
Take the Nagano Dentetsu limited express from the basement of Nagano Station around 8:00; it takes about 45 minutes to the terminus at Yudanaka, past orchards and the snowy ridge of the Shiga Highlands. Buy the combined train, bus and monkey park ticket at the counter before boarding, it is cheaper than the pieces. From Yudanaka a bus runs 15 minutes to the Kanbayashi Onsen stop at the trailhead.
1 HourCost: ¥1,000–1,500 
2Forest trail to the park
From the bus stop a lane leads past a few ryokan to the start of the path, then it is about 1.6 kilometres, roughly 30 minutes, along a flat forest trail above the river with the mountains showing through the cedars. In winter the path is packed snow and ice; rent crampons at the shop by the trailhead if you have none. The last few hundred metres drop down to the valley and the smell of sulphur.
45 MinutesCost: Free- 3
Jigokudani Monkey Park
Arrive around 10:00, when the troop comes down to the riverside pool to warm up and the light is still soft in the valley. The monkeys ignore people entirely, which is the whole charm: they groom, squabble and doze in the water a metre from your boots. Keep hands in pockets, no food and no eye contact with the big males. The park closes around dusk, earlier in winter, and the monkeys go back up the mountain when they feel like it.
1.5 HoursCost: ¥500–1,000 - 4
Lunch at the trailhead
Walk back through the forest and eat at the cafe by the car park, which does soba, curry and a good bowl of the local hot pot from late morning, or at the small ryokan restaurants along the lane. If the day is bright, take the alternative road down through the woods to Shibu Onsen rather than the bus; it is about 30 minutes downhill and comes out at the top of the village.
45 MinutesCost: ¥1,000–2,000 
5Shibu Onsen bath-hopping
Shibu is a single cobbled street of wooden ryokan with nine small public bathhouses, each fed by a different spring; overnight guests get the key, and day visitors can use the large ninth bath with a ticket from the tourist office around 14:00. Between soaks there are manju steamed over the hot spring, a shooting-gallery arcade and lanes that glow at dusk. A bus back to Yudanaka and the train to Nagano run into the evening.
2 HoursCost: ¥500–1,500
Day 1 Estimated Cost
- Food¥2,000–4,000
- Transport¥2,500–3,500
- Admissions & baths¥1,000–2,500
Tips
Buy the Snow Monkey Pass at Nagano Station: it bundles the Nagano Dentetsu train, the local buses and the park ticket for two days, and the direct express buses from the station east exit are the fallback if the train times do not suit.
Waterproof boots with grip from December to March, and clip-on spikes from the trailhead shop when the path is icy; the trail is not steep but it is narrow and there is a drop on one side.
Eat before or after the park, never inside it; food in bags attracts the monkeys and the staff will ask you to leave, while the onsen manju in Shibu are the afternoon snack.
Mid-morning on a cold clear day gives the most steam and the reddest faces, and a low angle from the pool's edge works better than a long lens; in autumn and spring the monkeys are there but often not in the water.