A day off the slopes with the snow monkeys
Plenty of skiers in Nagano keep one day free for the monkeys, often the day sore legs or bad weather call for a break. How easy that is depends on where you are sleeping, because only some tours come out to the mountains. The sections below go resort by resort.
Which resorts the tours reach
The park sits in the same snowy corner of the prefecture as several big ski areas, yet most tours start in Nagano city. Only a few reach out to the resorts, listed below with the times the listings give. The winter options run in the snow season only.
| Staying in | Tour | From | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hakuba | Zenko-ji and sake day (tour 1) | ~$139 | Winter shuttle, December to March, from 7:40 am; back about 6:45 pm |
| Nozawa Onsen, Myoko | Private car and guide (tour 5) | ~$132 per person | Hotel pickup and drop-off |
| Nozawa Onsen via Iiyama | Soba and Shibu Onsen (tour 3) | ~$127 | Free pickup at Iiyama Station; time varies |
| Shiga Kogen (snow play) | Shiga Kogen snow fun (tour 4) | ~$164 | Starts in Nagano City or at Yudanaka Station and drives you up |
For every other option you first get yourself to Nagano Station. The pickup guide lists each meeting point with its time.
Hakuba, on the winter shuttle
Hakuba lies on the far side of Nagano from the park, so a day trip from there is long whatever you do. Our pick, from ~$139, solves the transport with a shuttle that runs from December to March.
It leaves the Hakuba Tokyu Hotel at 7:40 am or the Hakuba Happo Bus Terminal at 7:55 am, and brings you back at about 6:45 pm. The shuttle is included in the price, and GetYourGuide lists the day at 8–12 hours to cover the Hakuba option.
In between you get the full Nagano day, starting with about 1.5 hours at Zenko-ji with a guide. A short tasting stop and a sake tasting for over-20s come before lunch at a local restaurant, and the park gets about 2.5 hours including the walk.
The catch is size and length. This is a standard group of up to 99 guests, out from before 8 am until early evening, which asks a lot of legs that skied the day before. A small group wanting a shorter day should compare the private car options first.
From Hakuba without hiring a car
From December to March our pick collects skiers in Hakuba before 8 am. The ~$139 price covers the shuttle and lunch as well as Zenko-ji with a guide and park entry, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before.
Pickups for Nozawa Onsen and Myoko
From Nozawa Onsen or Myoko, the simplest route is Omotenashi Travel's private car day from ~$132 per person. Both towns are on its list of hotel pickup areas.
The half day runs 4–5 hours from 9 am, so you are back in time for an afternoon soak or an early dinner. The per-person price falls as the group grows, and park entry (¥800 adults) and lunch are paid on top.
Iiyama Station, the Hokuriku Shinkansen stop one north of Nagano, is the rail gateway for Nozawa Onsen. It is also a free pickup point for Yadoroku's soba-and-bath day from ~$127.
That tour's 10 am meeting time is at the park itself, so the pickup time depends on the station. One reviewer suggests riding the Shinkansen to Iiyama instead of Nagano to save time.
The day ends in Shibu Onsen with soba and a soak in a public bath, which suits sore skiing muscles. The guide to add-on stops describes the town.
The operator of our pick also lists winter versions on Viator that start from Nozawa Onsen and from Myoko. We have not compared those in detail, so check their own pages for times.
Shiga Kogen, right above the park
Shiga Kogen is the big ski area on the plateau above the monkey valley, and it hosted events at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Shiga Kogen snow-fun day, from ~$164, brings people up there rather than collecting them there.
It starts in Nagano City or at Yudanaka Station and climbs for 105 minutes to a roped-off snow area. There you get about 1.5 hours on sleds and tubes or snowscoots and snowdrive bikes, then lunch beside the ski fields. A 35-minute descent brings you to the park, where you get about 2.75 hours with the walk included.
Skiing is not part of it, and the listing says there is no time for it. It suits a group that mixes skiers with non-skiers or children, though a skier chasing first tracks will feel the lost morning. The guide for families covers the snow play in detail.
Snow clothing rents for ¥500 per item. If Shiga Kogen cannot be reached, the tour visits Zenko-ji instead without advance notice.
Guests already staying at Shiga Kogen are closer to the park than any tour start. Ask your hotel how to get down to Kanbayashi Onsen, then use the no-tour guide for the gate and the trail.
Leave the skis behind
No tour needs ski gear, and ski boots are the wrong thing on the trail. The walk from the Kanbayashi Onsen parking is about 1 mile (1.6 km) each way through cedar forest. For much of the winter the path is packed snow and ice, with a few steps near the pool.
Ski jackets and pants work well, but wear winter boots with grip, and slip-on ice cleats help on the icy stretches. Tours 1 and 2 rule out heels and sandals. The clothing checklist has the rest.
Bring a small bag and some yen for the gate or the cafe, and keep snacks out of sight around the monkeys. Leave the selfie stick in your room as well, since the park bans them near the animals.
Picking the day in a ski week
A storm day with poor visibility on the slopes can be a good monkey day, since the troop bathes mostly in cold weather (roughly December to March). Even then a soak is never guaranteed, and on a few days a year the monkeys do not come down at all.
On thin days, reviewers say, our pick's guides have taken groups to a nearby hot-spring town instead. Tours 1 to 5 all cancel free up to 24 hours ahead, so you can book a likely rest day and move it if fresh snow falls.
Book the soba and Shibu Onsen day well before the trip, since Viator puts its average lead time at about 67 days. The bathing-season guide covers the months in more detail.