Bathing Snow Monkeys at Jigokudani Yaen-koen near Nagano

Getting there from Nagano

The starting point is Nagano Station. Coming from Tokyo you are in Nagano in around 90 minutes with the Hokuriku Shinkansen. But do plan a few days in Nagano anyway. There is so much more to see here than just the snow monkeys. Everything about travelling by train is here: Traveling through Japan with the Shinkansen and about the pass here: The Japan Rail Pass for tourists.

A different bus runs in winter

Watch out: from 5 December to 5 April the regular Shiga Kogen Express bus does not stop at the Jigokudani Yaen-koen. During that time the separate Snow Monkey Park Express bus runs instead, and it goes a lot more often per day. It still departs from the East Exit. Check the current timetable before you set off anyway, the times change with the season. You will find the official page here: snowmonkeyresorts.com

The walk to the park

The bus does not stop right at the Jigokudani Yaen-koen, but a good distance before it. From the car park you first walk through the village to the entrance of the forest, and that is where the actual trail starts.

Behind the forest it gets spectacular

After the forest you come out right at the river, and here it becomes immediately clear where the name comes from. Jigokudani means hell valley. Everything hisses and steams and boiling hot water shoots out of the ground. Right in the middle stands the ryokan Korakukan, the only house up here. From there a path leads up to the actual entrance of the park.

The monkeys in the hot spring

The park itself is small and you are through it in a few minutes. But there are monkeys everywhere. On the path, on the walls, on the railings and right next to you. There are no fences and no enclosures, the animals are free and come down here of their own accord.

They are Japanese macaques, also called snow monkeys. They live further north than any other monkey in the world. At the end of the park you then see THE pool that you know from countless photos. There they sit in the steaming water, groom each other’s fur and ignore you completely. The bathing mainly happens when it is cold. The best months are January and February, snow usually lies from December to March. In summer the pool is often empty, simply because it is too warm. The keepers then sometimes throw food into the water so that something happens at all. It can well happen that not a single one turns up on a given day.

Opening hours and admission

Open daily, from April to October 8:30 am to 5 pm, from November to March 9 am to 4 pm.
Admission around 1,000 yen for adults and around 500 yen for children.

Rules of conduct

The rules were tightened in 2026, and there are reasons for that. Visitor numbers have at times shot up to 3,000 to 4,000. Unfortunately there were also guests who wanted to feed the monkeys, touch them or even get into the pool with them. Stick to the following:

• Do not feed them. Never, not even secretly.
• Do not touch them and do not pet them.
• Keep at least 1 to 2 metres distance.
• Do not get into the water. The pool is not an onsen for humans. If you want to bathe yourself, you will find proper onsen here: The most beautiful onsen in Japan
• Do not eat or drink in the park or on the trail. Even an open water bottle in your hand is an invitation.
• Do not stare the monkeys in the eyes. Among macaques direct eye contact counts as a threat.
• No flash and no selfie sticks.
• Do not bring dogs or other pets.

These are not friendly suggestions. They are wild animals with a powerful set of teeth, and if they feel cornered they can get aggressive and bite. During our visit there was an American who absolutely had to try it out. Since then I also know how big monkey teeth can be. He was sent out by the staff as well.