Karuizawa & Hakuba 7-Day Winter Tour: Snow Monkeys, Castles & Alpine Villages
✨ Highlights
A storybook week in the Japanese Alps — winter Japan beyond the ski lift. Karuizawa's larch avenues and frozen waterfall, the wild monkeys of Jigokudani soaking in their steaming pool, an onsen-town night walked in yukata and snow boots, Matsumoto's black crow castle against white peaks, Zenko-ji temple's dawn prayers — and two days in Hakuba to ski, snowshoe or simply sit in a rotenburo watching the Three Peaks turn pink at sunset. Private car throughout: warm, door to door, luggage never touched.
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🎫 Options
🚘 The price is for the WHOLE private Toyota Alphard (7-seater, up to 6 guests) with driver for all 7 days, 8 hours a day — not per person; 2 or 6 travellers pay the same. Hotels, admission tickets, meals and tolls/parking are charged at cost (we book them on request). A licensed guide can be added on request.
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Select quantity1 adult
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- Capacity
- 1+
- Itinerary
- 7 days · 13 stops
- 15:00
Meet in Tokyo, shinkansen to Karuizawa · 120 min
Met at your Tokyo hotel or the airport; the Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Karuizawa in about an hour while the car drives up with the luggage.
- 18:00
Karuizawa evening · 120 min
Check in, dinner in Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza under the winter lights. Overnight: Karuizawa.
- 09:00
Shiraito Falls & the frozen forest · 180 min
The curtain of water half-frozen in the cold, larch forest walks, Kumoba Pond.
- 13:00
Old Karuizawa & the outlets · 240 min
Lunch, the stone church and the old villas, then the Prince Shopping Plaza or an afternoon of skiing at Karuizawa Prince. Overnight: Karuizawa.
- 09:00
Zenko-ji · 180 min
Ninety minutes north to Nagano city. The great temple, the pitch-dark passage under the altar, soba for lunch on the approach.
- 13:30
Snow monkeys · 180 min
A 30-minute forest walk to Jigokudani, where the macaques soak in the hot spring — best from December to March. Crampons provided.
- 17:00
Shibu Onsen · 120 min
Nine public baths along a cobbled street, a yukata walk, ryokan dinner. Overnight: Shibu or Yudanaka Onsen.
- 09:30
Obuse · 180 min
The Hokusai Museum and chestnut sweets in the little town; Ganshoin's ceiling phoenix.
- 13:30
Matsumoto Castle · 240 min
Ninety minutes south. The black castle against the snowy Alps, Nakamachi's storehouse street, a quiet dinner. Overnight: Matsumoto.
- 09:00
Into Hakuba · 150 min
An hour north to the valley of the 1998 Winter Games; ski or snowshoe rental fitted at the hotel.
- 13:00
Happo-One afternoon · 300 min
First runs on Happo-One, or the Iwatake gondola for the view of the Northern Alps; onsen and dinner in Echoland. Overnight: Hakuba (2 nights).
- 09:00
Hakuba free day · 480 min
Ski Hakuba 47 and Goryu, snowshoe to Happo Pond's frozen bowl, or simply soak — the driver moves you between resorts and baths. Overnight: Hakuba.
- 09:00
Return to Tokyo · 300 min
An hour to Nagano Station for the Hokuriku Shinkansen (about 90 minutes to Tokyo); the car follows with skis and luggage and meets you at your hotel or the airport.
※ Actual timings vary with road conditions on the day.
🗺️ Route map
Tap a number to see that day
Day 1 — Tokyo Station
Met at your Tokyo hotel or the airport; the Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Karuizawa in about an hour while the car drives up with the luggage.
🗾 Related tours
Hakuba & Kamikochi Autumn Overnight-Bus Tour: Mountain Harbor and Japan's Little Switzerland (no hotel)
¥19,000
Kamikochi–Hakuba Autumn Tour, 2 Days 2 Nights by Night Bus — from Tokyo, Nagoya or Osaka
¥29,000
Kamikochi–Hakuba–Matsumoto Autumn Camping Tour, 2 Days — a tent night in the red-leaf valley
¥25,000
Tateyama 2-Day 1-Night Autumn Camping Tour — Alpine Route, Murodo, Mt. Tateyama trek
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⚠️ Must-read4 items · tap to read▾
- •Tours are guided mainly in English; OlaChill provides Vietnamese support via LINE/WhatsApp throughout the trip.
- •In severe weather (typhoon, heavy snow…), a cancellation decision is made by 15:00 the day before departure and sent to your registered email/contact; weather cancellations are fully refunded.
- •Please be on time at the meeting point and every gathering point — the bus does not wait for latecomers; missed portions due to personal reasons are non-refundable.
- •The itinerary and time at each stop may be adjusted for traffic, weather or facility maintenance; in force-majeure cases a stop may be replaced with a comparable alternative.
📌 Other notes6 items · tap to read▾
- •One carry-on bag per guest on the bus; please store large luggage at your hotel or a locker near the meeting point.
- •Infants aged 0–2 without a seat join free; max one infant per adult; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- •Pregnant guests and those with medical conditions should consider carefully: long bus rides, and immediate medical care may not be available on some legs.
- •Lunch is not included unless the tour states otherwise — bring your own or eat at the stops.
- •Change/cancellation terms vary by tour — see the cancellation policy on each tour page before booking. If the tour itself is cancelled for weather/force majeure, you receive a full refund.
- •Snow-season roads can be slower than planned — return may be delayed; avoid tight plans right after the tour.
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