Snow Monkey Park & Zenkoji Temple Nagano Pvt. Full Day Tour

Discover Nagano’s Snow Monkey Park and Zenkoji Temple on a private full-day tour. Perfect for families, friends, and couples. Book now for an unforgettable adventure.

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Zenko-ji Temple - Nagano’s Zenkoji Temple is one of the most important and popular temples in Japan. It was founded in the 7th century and stores the first Buddhist statue ever to be brought into Japan when Buddhism was first introduced in the 6th century. The original statue is hidden while a copy of it is shown to the public every six years for a few weeks. The next opportunity to see the statue is expected to be in 2028.

The significance of Zenkoji to the development of Nagano was instrumental: many major Japanese cities have evolved either from castle towns, harbor towns or temple towns. In the case of Nagano, it grew from a temple town which developed around its temple of great importance, Zenkoji.

  • Enza Cafe - “Enza Café” in Nagano is known for its unique offerings and beautiful location. Located near the Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen-Koen), it provides a cozy spot for visitors to relax and enjoy refreshments after watching the famous snow monkeys in their natural hot spring habitat. The café often features local specialties and provides a picturesque view, making it a popular stop for tourists.

  • Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park - The Jigokudani Monkey Park offers visitors the unique experience of seeing wild monkeys bathing in a natural hot spring. The park is inhabited by Japanese Macaques, which are also known as Snow Monkeys. It is located in the monkey’s natural habitat, in the forests of the Jigokudani valley in Yamanouchi, not far from the onsen towns of Shibu and Yudanaka.

The park has one man-made pool around which the monkeys gather, located a few minutes’ walk from the park entrance. Visitors will likely already encounter monkeys along the path to the pool. The monkeys live in large social groups, and it can be quite entertaining to watch their interactions. Accustomed to humans, the monkeys can be observed from very close and almost completely ignore their human guests. Naturally, it is prohibited to touch or feed the monkeys.

What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • All fees and/or taxes
  • Hotspot on the board
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Alcoholic Beverages
  • Dinner
  • Entry fee of Snow Monkey Park (800 japanese Yen/Adult) only.
Additional Information

We designed this tour for full fun and entertainment especially your Families, Friends, Couples and Groups. This tour will be memorable of your life. On the way to Nagano, the unique scenery and the view of Mt. Fuji are breathtaking. Most interesting is in Zen-koji Temple the most important Buddha statue in Zen-koji Temple was brought to Japan, when Buddhism was introduced. It is claimed to be the earliest Buddha statue in Japan. The most interesting Snow Monkey Park in this tour which is very famous all over the World. Monkey bath in water and many more. Monkeys remain the center of attention throughout the year. We have all types of vehicles according to the number of Travelers. In our tour pick up & drop off are included, travelers can send us their pick up address in special requirements or book the Tour. There is almost distance from the general area of Tokyo to Nagano Snow Monkey Park 3 hours & 40 minutes one side by express way. Note: Saving time makes you Rich.

Location
tokyo station
Travelers can ask us about the location freely. They can contact us by e.mail, whatsAap or mobile phone call. Travelers can find us at Tokyo Eki JR kosoku Bus Noriba stop first avenue tokyo station.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(17 Ratings)
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Smiley
Jul 28, 2024
Great visit could be wheelchair friendly - Was advertised as wheelchair accessible DEFINITELY NOT although I was keen to see the monkeys I struggled and with the help of my sons and wife to the top practically carried me up and down minus my chair we enjoyed it arrived at Temple at closing as it took quite a time struggling Visiting the monkeys the tour guide Ambre was great
Review provided by Viator
Jennamd4777kv
Jul 3, 2024
Stress free, comfortable traveling! - Sharon was our guide on this trip and did a fantastic job! He answered many of our questions and even pointed out things we saw along the way since it was a lengthy drive from Tokyo! Thanks so much!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephencp9648cn
Jun 5, 2024
Great day trip from Tokyo - A great day. Our guide Irfan K K arrived at our hotel exactly at the arranged time. We enjoyed a comfortable air con van and saw the Zenkoji Temple complex which was amazing..... but not as amazing as the snow monkeys which is the highlight of our Tokyo stay so far. The driver was safe, courteous and knowledgeable. Would recommend this activity as a must do.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tejasvi_m
May 30, 2024
Snow Monkey Park & Zenkoji Temple Nagano Pvt. Full Day Tour - A Great Experience! - This private tour was absolutely worth the price! Driving through the beautiful Nagano countryside was amazing. Our guide was fantastic - very knowledgeable and helpful. They gave interesting background information on both Zenkoji Temple and the Snow Monkey Park, making the whole experience much richer. A few things to keep in mind: My tour was in May/June, so as expected, I didn't see any snow (these monkeys are called "snow monkeys" because they bathe in hot springs in the winter). However, the upside was there were also far fewer crowds! The Snow Macaques were fascinating to watch! They were playing around in the hot springs, and even took some sips of water (not quite a full-on "snow monkey soak," but still interesting!). While I spent most of my time snapping pictures, for those who want to relax, two hours would be plenty of time to enjoy the hot springs as well. Overall, this was a well-organized tour and well worth the cost. I highly recommend it!
Review provided by Viator
770albertusb
May 23, 2024
Awesome experience - Our driver picked us up on time at our Hotel , English communication and friendly driver. Very safe driver. The driver was really informative .He took us to Mt Fuji . Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christina_s
Apr 21, 2024
Great tour. - We had a great day visiting the Snow Monkey Park and the Zenkoji Temple. Waqar, our guide, did an excellent job. His english was very good and he kept us entertained during the drive. The monkeys were cute, especially the young ones. They come right up to you and you can pose near them. The Temple complex was the largest one we have seen during our time in Japan. I highly recommend this trip for anyone wanting to see the snow monkeys up close.
Review provided by Viator
Funlovernj
Apr 20, 2024
Outstanding day! - Outstanding day! Waqar, our guide, was excellent. His English was very good and he was attentive to what we wanted to see and do. He got us to the Snow Monkey Park with lots of time to do the 1.5 km hike to the park entrance and spend plenty of time viewing and photographing the monkeys. The Zenjoki Temple has 5 shrines and a number of large buddahs. We had not seen a temple complex as large or as intricate as this one. All in all an outstanding day. I can’t recommend this tour and Waqar enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Edwin_p
Apr 7, 2024
Wonderful day trip to Jigokidani Snow Monkey Park - Umair is an excellent driver and took good care to try to meet our group’s needs. He communicated well thru WhatsApp and was punctual. Seeing the snow monkeys is a very special experience making it worthwhile to take a day trip from Tokyo. The Zenkoji shrine is beautiful
Review provided by Viator
Belindaellenscott
Apr 6, 2024
Snow Monkeys didn’t disappoint 🐵 - Great day tour out of Tokyo (10 hours). Beautiful scenery and the monkeys were fabulous plus the lovely nature walk through the pines. Lunch at the cafe was delicious. And finally a stroll through Zenkoji Temple. Wakar the driver was punctual, polite and very helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lauren_d
Apr 13, 2024
Snow Monkeys Were Awesome - Inexperienced Guide Not So Much - I do not write reviews often. But, unfortunately, I cannot recommend this tour operator. They hired an inexperienced driver/guide for our excursion. He did not know the route or his way around Tokyo. On the outbound trip, we nearly got into a head-on highway collision because our driver did not realize the tunnel we headed into was two-way, not one-way traffic. We opted to skip the shrine altogether to get back earlier. On the trip back, he made a wrong turn delaying our return to our hotel by an additional 30 minutes, after a 3.5 hour journey back into Tokyo. He did not know anything about the Snow Monkey area either, which required me to find a suitable place for our family to eat lunch very last minute. I bumped the rating up by one star because he was really nice, spoke decent English, and was trying really hard to do a good job as a guide. The experience of seeing the snow monkeys itself was wonderful. I highly recommend the day trip if you want to do a short/easy hike and take a break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
Review provided by Viator
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September 2024
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