Japanese macaques sitting in a steaming outdoor hot spring, snow piled on the rocks behind them.

The answer, in the order the conditions decide it

Jigokudani Yaen-koen, the Snow Monkey Park, is in the mountains of Yamanouchi, northern Nagano. There is no road to the gate. From the bus stop you walk about 30 minutes on an unpaved forest path. From Tokyo it is about three hours each way, by Shinkansen to Nagano, then a bus or the Nagaden train.

  1. Your date is outside December to March? The park itself says the monkeys use the hot spring baths from December to March, the coldest months. Outside those months, a tour does not change that.
  2. Your date is in the season, and you are fine with three legs (train, bus, walk)? Go on your own. Per adult, the round trip comes to about ¥22,000 to ¥24,000 with admission, and the time at the park is yours.
  3. Your date is in the season, and you want one booking from Tokyo and back? This is where a tour fits: no Shinkansen seat, no bus, no transfer to time.
  4. You can give it a night? Stay in Yudanaka or Shibu Onsen. You are at the gate when it opens, before anyone arriving from Tokyo, with no Shinkansen to catch.

In season, and want one booking from Tokyo and back?

  • Nagano Snow Monkey Day Tour from Tokyo on Klook

    This day tour is sold as a trip to the Nagano snow monkeys from Tokyo, so the Shinkansen, the Nagaden leg and the bus are not yours to book. Check what is included for your date.

    Check the snow monkey tour on Klook →

    Sold on Klook (Klook Travel Technology Limited), an online travel agency. Before you pay, check on the listing for your date: the meeting point and time in Tokyo, the return time, how long you get at the park, whether park admission is included, and the cancellation terms.

A group of macaques around a steaming stone-edged pool, snow dusting the rock face behind.

First: your date

The months. The park says it plainly: the monkeys use the baths from December to March. It also warns that they are wild. The staff draw them in with a regulated feeding routine, and “the monkeys may not show up at all on certain days”. Appearances are “particularly sporadic in the autumn”.

Three macaques on the rocks beside a green hot spring pool, no snow on the ground.
Outside winter the monkeys may still come down, but the bath is not why they are there.

The ticket. Since August 2026 the park sells web tickets. They are for one date only and go on sale up to three months ahead. From December through April, web-ticket holders get priority entry. The park also says that without one you may wait, and on crowded days you may be turned away. Its winter calendar for December 2026 to March 2027 marks the weekends, the year-end and New Year days and the holidays as “extremely crowded”. For a December visit, that means buying in September.

The trail in winter. The walk is 1.6 km from the trailhead near Kanbayashi Onsen. The park asks for snow boots in winter and suggests buying simple crampons before you come. It is the same walk whether you arrive by tour coach or by bus. The paths in and around the park are unpaved, and the park says wheelchairs and carts cannot get through.

A lane cleared through deep banked snow between tall cedars, a lantern post with a small monkey sign at the left.
A straight path through tall cedar trees, packed snow underfoot and sunlight across the trunks.

Second: the hours, door to door

Going alone, the legs from Tokyo add up like this, one way:

  • Shinkansen, Tokyo to Nagano: 79 minutes on the fastest trains, as the park lists it, and up to about 110 on the slower ones.
  • Nagano to the park bus stop: the Nagaden express bus from the East Exit takes about 40 to 50 minutes. The other way is the Nagaden limited express to Yudanaka, 38 minutes, then the local bus to the Snow Monkey Park stop.
  • The walk: about 30 to 35 minutes.

Add the transfers and it is about three hours each way, six hours there and back. In winter the park is open 9:00 to 16:00, November to March. Leave Tokyo around 7:00 and you reach the gate around 10:00, with six hours to fill before it closes.

The side of a white Shinkansen train with a blue stripe, stopped under the roof of a Tokyo Station platform.

On a tour, the hours are on the listing: when you meet in Tokyo, how long you get at the park, when you are back. Check those three lines first. A coach from Tokyo removes the transfers, and the time at the park is set for you.

A black-and-white view of a train standing at a platform in Nagano, a bench and a vending machine in front.

Third: the cost, per adult

Round trip from Tokyo, as the operators and fare-search sites list them on October 2, 2026:

Express bus routeNagaden train route
Shinkansen, reserved seat, regular season¥16,900 (¥8,450 each way)¥16,900
Nagano to the park bus stop¥6,000 (¥3,000 each way, last winter’s fare)¥4,300: train ¥1,660 + limited express ¥100, local bus ¥390, each way
Park admission, web ticket¥880¥880
Total¥23,780¥22,080

What sits behind the numbers:

  • The Shinkansen fare is the regular-season price after JR East’s fare change of March 14, 2026. JR East’s own fare pages could not be read for this page, so check it for your date.
  • The express bus fare is Nagaden’s ¥3,000 for winter 2025–26 (¥2,000 in summer). The 2026–27 winter timetable was not out yet.
  • The admission is the park’s new price from December 1, 2026: ¥1,000 at the window, ¥880 online.
  • The Snow Monkey Pass. Nagaden’s pass (train, one round trip on the bus, admission) was ¥4,800 and sold April 1 to September 30, 2026. No winter version was listed on October 2. The park also sells admission with a bus pass from Nagano Station on its ticket page.
  • A Japan Rail Pass covers the Shinkansen, which is JR. It does not cover Nagaden’s trains or buses. See whether the pass pays for your trip.

Then put the tour price for your date next to ¥22,000 to ¥24,000.

Two macaques up to their shoulders in a steaming hot spring, one looking down into the water.

Fourth: your party

Children. At the park, children from elementary to high school pay ¥500 at the window or ¥440 online, and under-6s go free. Nagaden charges a child ¥830 from Nagano to Yudanaka. The trail is the same at any age, and the park asks guardians not to let go of a small child’s hand.

Three or four of you. On trains with a private compartment, Nagaden charges ¥1,200 for the room, for up to four people. Going alone, the cost grows with every head, and so does a per-person tour price. Being a group does not tip it either way. What a group does change is how many web tickets you need for one date.

Pets and gear. No pets, service dogs included. Selfie sticks are not allowed. The park asks you to watch from a distance without startling the monkeys.

A macaque sitting on top of a red notice board headed with a request to visitors in Japanese, snowy slope behind.

The tie-break: one night in Yudanaka or Shibu Onsen

Yudanaka is the end of the Nagaden line, and Shibu Onsen is the next town along the bus route up to the park. A night there removes the hardest parts of the day trip. The local bus costs ¥250 from Shibu Onsen and ¥390 from Yudanaka Station to the Snow Monkey Park stop, and runs about six times a day toward the park. Look at the timetable, revised October 1, 2026. The park says the route through Shibu Onsen is closed in winter, so in the season you ride, not walk.

A tall wooden inn with many balconies in Shibu Onsen, a little snow on the ground in front.

What it gets you: the 9:00 opening, with no Shinkansen to make that evening. On a weekend marked “extremely crowded”, that opening hour is the easiest one to get through the gate. If the ryokan is new to you, read what a first ryokan stay is like and the bath etiquette first.

A basket of eggs cooking in a stone basin of hot spring water fed by a bamboo spout, a sign for soft-boiled eggs above.

One day, run both ways

On your own, in season. Buy the web ticket for your date. Leave Tokyo around 7:00, change at Nagano for the express bus or the Nagaden train, and walk in with crampons on. Give the park two hours or more, walk back before it closes at 16:00, and ride the bus back to Nagano for a Shinkansen in the early evening.

One macaque grooming another on a rock at the edge of a hot spring pool, a rocky slope behind.

Tour, in season. Meet in Tokyo at the listed time, ride the coach, walk the same trail, keep to the listed time at the park, ride back. You give up the hours you would choose, and you get no transfers and no seats to book.

When the tour is the one to book

If your date is between December and March, and you would rather not book a Shinkansen seat, catch a bus in Nagano and time three transfers, the tour is the plan that fits. It is the same walk and the same monkeys. Before you pay, check whether it includes admission and how long it gives you at the park. If you are comfortable with the transfers, going alone costs about ¥22,000 to ¥24,000 per adult and leaves the hours to you. If you can spare a night, stay in Shibu Onsen or Yudanaka.

December to March, and want one booking from Tokyo?

  • Nagano Snow Monkey Day Tour from Tokyo on Klook

    Book your date on Klook, then check the meeting point, the return time, the time at the park, whether admission is included and the cancellation terms before you pay.

    Check the snow monkey tour on Klook →

    Sold on Klook (Klook Travel Technology Limited), an online travel agency. Before you pay, check on the listing for your date: the meeting point and time in Tokyo, the return time, how long you get at the park, whether park admission is included, and the cancellation terms.

Next

Your date comes first. If it falls between December and March, the park’s web ticket for that date is the first thing to buy. It goes on sale three months ahead, and winter weekends are the days marked “extremely crowded”. Then book the Shinkansen or the tour, and put crampons on your packing list. For the rest of your Tokyo days, see the day trips worth a whole day.