Yamanouchi Reviews

Worth the travel! It is just cool to see the monkeys living there and chilling in and around the hot tub. An hour there is enough. Pro tip: buy combo ticket for bus and entrance fee at nagano station.

Driving to the place can be scary and challenging experience. The road leading to the park is wet and slippery during Autumn and Winter season. But it's a risk worthy of meeting the snow monkeys

This was one of my favorite things in 2 months in Japan. The mountain is fantastic. The parc il well set up, and you just get to see hundreds of wild monkeys running around. It is an amazing experience.
There is a live webcam so you can check if the monkeys have arrived yet or if not (as they come down pretty much whenever they feel like it), so you don't have to walk the 40 minutes from town for nothing.
The monkeys are fed apple at around 4pm, quite a sight to see.
If was there in August and it was full of monkeys, they don't just come in winter.
A must do in the area.

The walk to the monkey park was muddy so make sure you dress appropriately for the weather! The monkeys were cute and there were a lot of people. The view was beautiful

The hike to the monkey park was awesome and it was fun to see the monkeys running around. Unfortunately, I felt like humans outnumbered the snow monkeys and there weren't many monkeys taking a bath in the hot springs (maybe, it was because I was there in March...)

Unfortunately the monkey was absent, but I enjoyed the wonderful scenery and autumn leaves.
If you like walking, we recommend using the back of Kanbayashi Onsen, and if you don't, we recommend using the nearby toll parking lot.
You can use Go To coupons, and you can get cute sticky notes when the monkey is absent, so be sure to talk about it.

Very good, beautiful scenery along the way, gentle trails, toilets at the entrance to the converted ticket, very convenient.

I will be healed. It was good that I was completely unsuspecting about humans.

I want to climb the mountain to see the monkey, but it is healing and I feel worth it.

Lots of monkeys I guess the best time to go to monkey park is winter since none of the monkeys were in the spa...

Amazing place to see the snow monkeys. Monkeys so chilled out and happy to walk pass you with no care that you are around.

Place to do absolutely! You will see monkeys bathing in onsens in the middle of the forest. I strongly advise to go there in the morning, the monkeys will not have yet joined the basins and they will walk quietly next to you until their destination (moreover they are not aggressive). Avoid taking food anyway. I highly recommend!

Needless to say, Jigokudani Yaen-koen is a snow monkey. There is also a fountain near you so you can feel the breath of the earth!

You can have a nice time seeing the monkeys play with each other, bath, and moving around. There's a short nice hike to get to the park. Mind that bad weather is a good sign, as it means that the monkeys will try to soak the cold away. The place is humid, so when cold, it gets under your skin fast. Take some layers and gloves with you.

The wild donkey coexists with the people. It can be seen that the Japanese are obeying the rules and do not feed the wild donkeys privately. Otherwise, they will be as troublesome as the monkeys in the Jinshan Country Park in Hong Kong.

World famous "Hirukudani Monkey Park" as Snow Monkey. Rare tourist destination with more foreign tourists than Japanese tourists! There is no doubt that the time to visit is when it is snowing in "winter"! Other seasons don't go and it's OK!

Some monkeys are in the hot spring, some are playing on the snow, some are resting, and you can see various monkeys' faces.

In addition, it is a place that can be highly recommended for photographers, and because monkeys will not run away even if they are nearby, they will be good subjects. As I observe, there are monkeys of various characters like human beings, so I think it is a good idea to look over the viewfinder.

I sort of miss the old building. The new renovation is nice and modern but it loses a bit of that rustic charm. Also the monkey leaders photos were not hung on the wall now.

Cute and fluffy monkeys that aren't shy at all! Beautiful snowy walk. What a treat. Bring umbrellas, heavy snow occasionally falls from the trees onto the pedestrians.

A monkey walks beside it normally. The distance is close

We stopped at Shiga Kogen on the way to see the autumn leaves. Is the hot water hot? I just touched it and saw it, but it wasn't in the hot spring. Unless it is winter, the hot spring seems to be hot.

The monkeys are so fun to watch. They bath, climb, play, and eat. You are in their habitat, not the other way around. So respect them because they can attack if you look them in the eye and threaten them. Have fun though. It's awesome

Beware of the long walk, about 30mins walk and it's quite muddy the whole way

Excellent experience for the middle of winter. You can see the monkeys' habitat and there is a heated and wifi place for rest. According to what could be seen, in summer the visit could be disappointing because the monkeys may not descend to the pond. It is advisable to go in time. Requires a walk of at least 2 hours and warm clothing!

Japanese facilities are really good! Just too many tourists.

Easy to get to from Nagano train station via the bus, followed by a 2km walk up to see the snow monkeys. The path is a quite icy further up so i would advise sensible shoes (i say this as i saw someone wearing thongs...). The views are amazing and there are lots of monkeys to see and get some great photo opportunities of. Please just bear in mind that they are wild animals. Give them space, back up and remain a safe distance at all times (remember everyone, most cameras have a zoom in function). And please don't bring/ offer food to the monkeys as this creates undesirable behavior and can often lead to harm.

Quite far up in the mountains. I went during long after I got there the trackers lead them to the park to get fed. I was hoping the monkey would sit in the hot spring but it was too warm( cold for me ) for them. Still a nice place to visit and a nice walk up to the park. There is an entrance fee to get in (can't remember price ) and a little info centre where you can read about them.

A least a hundred monkeys within arms reach. Definitely worth the hike up the canyon.

So fun to see these monkeys! Worth the hike, do not underestimate the shoes you need to huff it in the snow

Trek about 1.6km from the carpark/entrance to the ticket office of the monkey park.Trekking road is icy and slippery. Worth the trip as you get to observe wild snow monkey move around the park and back into their mountain.

A good place to go including half hour walk to the park, suitable to come four seasons.

It's a long walk to the monkey park. But it is worth the time spent to go there. The monkeys are not aggressive and they are on their own.

Beautiful trail along the way, especially in winter

Legendary snow monkey- well worth the journey there!

The most interesting thing about this place is that monkeys in hot springs in a large pond thought it would be boring, but in fact it is like entering a monkey park without a fence. You can take a variety of pictures without disturbing him. Will not be rejected by him. I'm a little curious, what do monkeys think of us?

On December 22, 2018, there were many monkeys. Although I was not in the hot springs, I was deeply moved because I could see the nature's monkey at a close distance.
On the wall of the kiosk, a profile with a high-ranking monkey's face photo was overhanging (commentary is Japanese only). It was fun to see a glimpse of the mechanism of the monkey society.

This is the only place from where you can see the world famous Japanese snow monkey. It is 15 mint bus distance from Yudanaka station. From the bus stop it will take approximately 40 mint by walk to reach the main entrance of the monkey park. There are many snow monkey inside the park. Although winter is the best time to visit this place but you can go in autumn or even in summer.

No matter the time you visit, it is a place that you should not miss, that is, keep in mind that you can fill your mud shoes, so take something suitable to walk through a forest, on the walk towards The stay of the Monkeys can admire the beauty of nature.

A long time ago, there was a memory of being collected by the monkey in the feeling of being a bandit at the seaside wild monkey park? You can walk with confidence without being swept away from behind. Of course I can't touch it because I'm so sloppy, but the little monkey was cute.

Smaller then I expected and really not convenient to get too. Overall was a good experience and the monkeys were awesome but not really worth most of your day getting too.

Really nice park to visit monkey in an Onsen setting. Went in March with nicer weather, but best season would be January or February, where more monkey would bathe.
Park rangers seems to take good care of the environment and feed the monkeys for the enjoyment of the visitors.
Monkeys are in liberty around the mountains.
One of a kind experience

Beautiful scenery and close interaction with the monkeys If it is cold enough they will take a dip in the hot springs to warm themselves up!

Short walk around the park. If its cold, you'll have a bigger chance to see them sitting in the bath. 800 yen entrance for adults is acceptable.

To enjoy the scenery properly and see the hot spring monkeys, you have to go when there is snow in the winter. However, it is also true that it is difficult to take a 30 minute walk in the snow. If you can afford to prepare your shoes for snow and enjoy a quiet forest road, this is a place that gives you a nice enough advertisement

The parking lot information is difficult to understand.
Also, there is a distance from the parking lot and 20 minutes on the mountain road may be difficult for the elderly.

First time to see monkey in snow and in spring water. Monkey Park staff will take food out to attract monkeys go near visitors area.

It was well worth the trip, even though it was just cold and without the snow. They are very cute. One can check the camera online to observe the time the monkeys are out the previous day, if you want to see them in hot spring. Otherwise, many are up in the hills that you can observe as well.

Friendly park with its funny tenants. A superb walk in the woods to start to finally arrive at the site where the monkeys are. They are very numerous if you fall on a good day ...

Fun trip! I'd recommend good shoes and getting the crampons in winter as the ice can be slippery.

It was after the rain, so the road was rough. I don't think it can be helped, but I wanted you to take some measures.

I could see the monkeys as they were right in front of me. If you go in winter, you should have non-slip shoes.

The snow monkey park was a huge pleasure, with lots of "awws" and "kawaii". The monkeys act as if the humans are not there. They behave very natural and are completely relaxed, as long as they don't see humans with food. There are clean toilets and some nice souvenirs, too. One of my top attractions in Japan so far!

Nice place. Easy hike. Can b quite cold when it gets a bit windy.

Walk for about half an hour and reach the monkeys. It is highly recommended

Lovely walk through a pine forest (takes a good 25+ minutes) to a one of a kind experience. We went in late December in the morning and there was snow on the ground and lots of monkeys in the hot springs. Lots of others all around. They are very comfortable with people and you can get really close for photos.

Would recommend as a short trip away from Tokyo. Stay in the local town for a Ryokan and onsen (public hot spring bath) experience though probably also possible to do as a day trip.

There is a fairly regular bus service to the start of the walk but most people seemed to have transfers arranged by the places they were staying. If there is snow, wear decent shoes or buy the crampons on offer (/ rent snow boots). The path was very slippery in places.

Well worth the trip - at least take a walk in nature

Took a while to go to the Monkey Onsen. Prepare your physical strength.

You can see a wild monkey entering a hot spring in the snow.
It seems to be famous as a snow monkey overseas, and there are many travelers from Europe, America and China.
However, it is required to walk in the mountains. Scaffolding is bad from the parking lot side,
It is a promenade from the Kambayashi Onsen side, but it takes about 30 minutes.

Quite hike up the mountain, but well worth the effort.

Rich in nature! The visitor center is more beautiful than before.

Not an entirely natural environment but still fun and the trail to reach the monkeys is gorgeous.

Excellent facilities and attentive staff!

It is about a 25 min. walk in slippery conditions until you reach the park so be sure to watch your step and wear proper footwear. That said, it is a scenic mini-hike.

Once you get there, there are tons of monkeys all over the place so you should have a great time and won't be disappointed.

Lots of shops before the park too.

P.S. there is a small outdoor onsen on the way where monkeys sit in the bath with you (bathing suit required) - as you can imagine, it is all about the experience and bathing with monkeys isn't too hygienic.

It takes a while to get there but definitely worth it. You can meet monkeys ready approaching the park so be careful since they might be quute... active trying to explore content of your bags. Also it's worth of going there in the morning since this gives you an opportunity to make it a day trip and return to Nagano the same day, unless you want to stay in Yudanaka

I was looking forward to it, but there was a monkey absence sign. I'm sorry but I laughed for some reason.

A bit crowded but it's a nice place to see the Snowmonkeys, do come early to beat the crowds. Wear propper hiking shoes!

It is good to check in advance because the situation of the local monkey is known in real time by the live camera

To get this out of the way first, be prepared for a bit of a walk, and it can be very slippery, however it is worth it. The initial walk from the bus stop is uphill for about 300-400m and will leave those of below average fitness gasping. However the main 1.8km walk all the guides talk about is after that and is pretty much flat - I particularly enjoyed walking through the magical snowy forest. After that there is one more steep flight of steps up to the park itself.

Inside the park are a couple of areas - initially a larger area with the stream running through where monkeys sit around (many lounging on a pipe clearly transporting hot water down the hill), with the second area being where the monkeys are lounging in a special built hot pool. It's not huge and it can get pretty crowded, but the monkeys largely ignore you and you can go right up to them to get fantastic pictures.

I recommend getting the monkey pass from the Dentetsu counter below the main railway station. This gives you the ability to use the Dentetsu railway line and various buses as well as get in the park, saving a bit of money. You can also then stop at a few other places on the way back to Nagano. (Bonus points for referring to it as a Leeloo Dallas Monkey Pass in your head all day long!)

Cant recommend this enough! 40 mins or so by bus from Nagano station and then about 45 min walk along a track to see the monkeys. Well worth it. Make sure you check out the human onsen right near the monkey onsen. For a grand total of 600 yen you can bathe with monkeys if they happen to come down. You can hire a towel there too. Well worth it and will warm you up for the walk back. Out of the 30 onsen I have been to this by far has the best view. Be warned though the tourists aren't too far away from you and can actually see you in the onsen. They can't really see if you are seated in the onsen but the 10 Meyer walk to the onsen can be a bit weird if you are shy. Just take a towel. It's the best! Trust me!!

Car park fee is steep 500 , and from parking you have to hike the mountain for approximately 600 meters but it feels a lot. Even park entrance fee is steep 800 and the same few monkeys are wandering even outside the park. For the cost you pay, there is nothing great there. Completely avoidable experience.

They properly enforce that no one touch or feed the monkeys so it is still possible to observe their fairly wild behaviour. They do get fed though from a caretaker that sprinkles pine seeds on the snow. But there still see humans as neither friend or foe, just something occasionally in the way.

The monkey park is through an idyllic forest at the end of a beautiful ravine. The monkeys are wild so there is no guarantee you will see them. When we went there, we managed to see one in 3 hours.

The visit is winter, there is a lot of hard work on the snow, the snow scene is beautiful along the way, the snow monkeys are also very cute, and the hard work is worth it.