Yamanouchi Reviews

I love a nice bush walk, and this trail to the where the monkeys bathe is one of the most beautiful I have trekked. Most walks are just trails without a final destination - this one has the added bonus of seeing cute monkeys bathing in their own Onsen. I was apprehensive about losing half a day of my Japan holidays for this but now I have no regrets. A must visit!

Walk 10-15 minutes from the parking lot of Kamibayashi Onsen. Shoes are recommended sneakers. I think snow boots are necessary in winter. The monkeys are indifferent to humans, and they can see their ecology astonishingly close and never get bored.

Very special, very cold weather, hot springs watching the monkeys, I feel very happy

Super close to the snow monkeys! Easy hike to the water pools.

Check out them monkeys! When I was there it was a super muddy and slippery 30 mins walk into the park, but you'll be finely rewarded with cheeky monkeys playing around your feet. Worth a visit!

I think it's late even if you enter the mountain road, that the convenience store bag is forbidden to bring in because it is targeted by monkeys.

Great place to be around the monkeys and see them bathe. Lots of baby monkees

Visit to December 13, 2018. It is a paradise of a monkey indifferent to a person.

The view is breathtaking. There were alot of monkeys and they come very close.

About 30 to 40 minutes from the entrance to the inside and don't worry about your lunch. There is a restaurant inside. ha ha
Remember, don't feed monkeys.

While it is not so easy to get to this park and you need to use different transports to get there, this is a unique option that is worth experiencing, when traveling to Japan.

If you arrive from Tokyo, it is best to take shinkansen to Nagano (included with JR railpass) and then take the Nagano Dentetsu train to Yudanaka (about 1,100 yen per person). From this station you can take bus or taxi to the park. There are two entrances, one is 30 minutes from the park, the other 15, so it is better to ask.

Once in the park, you can see a river near which the monkeys gather to rest, groom or eat, they are quite uninhibited so it is very easy to take pictures, even baby monkeys. They are quite a cutie but it is best to keep a safe distance and not disturb them.

It is a unique experience that I think could not be experienced elsewhere. The landscapes are beautiful and although in winter it must be incredible, traveling in summer is also great.

Something to consider is that the buses back to the Yudanaka station are scarce, there are no taxis and the walk back is almost 7 km, so it is advisable to ask in advance for the places and times from which the buses depart.

Anyway, even if you decide to walk back, the rural and mountain landscapes of the area are memorable, so the trip is well worth it.

Came during summer, and had the opportunity to see the monkeys playing in the water. Very fun!

wonderful nature walk to see the snow monkeys. absolutely enjoyed the experience

Beautiful mountain walk to find monkeys bathing in hot springs

Great park to see the snow monkeys. Loved every minute of it. Only advice would be to go earlier in the morning as it can get quite busy later on.

There are about 20 car parks around 10 minutes on foot. The price is 500 yen. I could not recognize the route with Googlemap.

As a tourist, this is a site to see. Monkeys in hot springs with a beautiful backdrop!

Fun walk through the Forrest, wear boots or sneakers you don t mind getting dirty. It s about a mile out and back to see the monkeys! Gift shop and tons of photo ops. If you book at the station you ll get your bus ticket there and back with a reduced admission and you can go back a second day! Just pay admission again.

This is my second time to the snow monkey park, this time without snow. Nice walk and there are still quite a lot of monkeys especially when staff is feeding. Of coz they won't be in onsen much tho.

You can even check out the webcam before going too!

It s a long walk and tiring, but it s worth the time

Lots of monkeys that come and go as they please. Monkeys are more common early in the morning before the tourist crowds show up.

Parking lot 500 yen, it costs 800 yen adult to enter. Children are charged from primary school children. Be careful of passing by the road before you go. There are many foreigners. You can see monkeys nearby. As there are bad places in the footsteps, be careful when walking. There is a day trip hot spring, and the charge is extra. Chimaki is delicious.

Good for first visit, but pond is small, crowd is large, only brief look at monkeys soaking for warmth, not really worth repeat visit

There are lots of monkeys, but I thought the place was bigger

You can see monkeys nearby, but you can do the same at the Japan Monkey Center. Not worth it unless you go in winter.

I was able to see the monkey up close.
It seemed that people were used to it, and it was okay to approach. There were also many small monkeys, and they were cute .

There were some monkeys yes they were in the water and on the rocks do recommend. Thank you Nagano, Very cool

You need to walk around half hour to find the onsen

Better then expected. If you love nature / wildlife then it is a must. Although none of the monkeys were is the water when we visited we could have sat there all day and watch them interact. Worth it.

The animals contrasting with the snow and circulating among visitors is just wonderful !!!

It was amazing to be up close with these snow monkeys in their own environment!

It was a nice piece of nature around there! we went just a week after a typhoon so the park was open but no monkeys... that was a bit sad. we tought! On the way back we spotted some monkeys in a parking lot! Beautifull animals rlly! I just think you gotta go when it is winter so u can see them good and see them enjoying the hot water spring

It is said that hot springs can only be entered during the cold season.
I visited during the cold months of December and thought that monkeys were in the hot springs, and most monkeys were not.
I wanted to see the inside, but it was still a nice sight.

At the timing of feeding
If you go, you can see a lot at hand.

Immediately after the entrance, the first Japanese macaques cross the road and seem to be used to people.

Down at the onsen you can see where you want, everything full of monkeys. When we were there in November, there were also countless boys. As it was quite warm despite the season, not a single monkey bathed.

Shortly after feeding they disappeared already. No idea if they came back later in the afternoon.

Already they live free, if they came here even without feeding I dare to doubt.

Brilliant little excursion from Nozawa Onsen to the Snow Monkey Park. A chance to see the monkeys in their natural habitat, enjoying the hot waters of the natural spring.

Super friendly staff, they are happy to share insights into the fauna of the place of you ask them questions. The place is a bit faraway to visit, and if lucky you may have some nice shots of the monkeys.

Really awesome place to see the snow monkey.

The feed them around 13h45 if you want to see them all in the same spot.

They will go to the hot onsen after and you can admire them in their natural habitat.

You can not feed the monkey and you have to be careful so they don't steal your camera or other items.

Don't be scared and you can get really close to them.

New Year's Day in 2019 Weather is good, so visit with Kami because it is free. It is not possible to go from Shibu Onsen side, it takes about 40 minutes on foot from Kamayashi Onsen side and about 30 minutes on the way back. Well, I am awesome. More than 60% probably foreigners. The sidewalk is Turunzurun. Everyone is careful with walking, but there are people who slide and fall. Finally I arrived at that famous outdoor bath. I was waiting for a while, but I could not see the monkey being in the outdoor bath. Everyone is waiting, so when the monkey comes to the outdoor bath's border, the camera is pointed all at once to reserve. However, Nakanaka does not enter. The monkey is here and eats snow. We will come to border, but it will not enter. I feel I understood the difficulty of an animal photographer for a moment. Then, by all means, I came to Japan by plane and probably came to Nagano by Shinkansen, I came to Yuda from there, I stayed for 1 night at a hot spring, and it came as far as this Jigokudani wild monkey park, which is obediently amazing I thought.

Plenty of monkeys to observe and they are not shy either.

Loved this place! So many wild monkeys, running around, jumping from Bridges, going for a swim.

The snow is much more beautiful and see the monkeys soak more water. But it will be very cold as well. Must walk from the parking lot 1.6km I'm tired of cold weather.

This place is wonderful but the winding trek to the actual site can be tricky because of the icy path - nothing a good pair of snow/ice boots and good coordination can't solve. It is a battle to get good pictures though as everyone has ginormous zoom lens that makes it difficult to get good shots or even just enjoy the monkeys. Never ever touch them as they are wild and there are monkey poolice that will whistle the hell out of you if even think about toeing that line.

Very easy access from Nagano with a direct bus or a local train + a bus. A short walk in the forest before accessing the grail. The monkeys are there but the influx of tourists spoils the pleasure a little. The positive point is that we stay there as long as we want, so we can let the groups pass ... the fact remains that it is something unique to see these monkeys enjoy the hot springs ...

I was sorry that the monkeys did not enter the hot spring

The environment is quiet, the snow is picturesque, and the monkeys are lovely. But be careful not to feed, food should not be explicit, and fear of monkey attacks.

Snow monkeys are not afraid of people, everyone is very excited!
Remember to bring crampons on a snowy day, the ground is too slippery

The monkeys were unfortunately not there, but the trip was also worth it because of the beautiful nature

I walk on a narrow road for 3 to 40 minutes from the parking lot, but there are people taking a commemorative photo on that narrow road, so it will not be in the way. However, looking at the Japanese macaques in the hot spring, something is healed. There was no danger. It was hard to walk on a snowy day when I went there. Japanese macaques are in a hot spring so comfortably! Worth a look!

It can't be helped because it's a living thing, but the evaluation will be different depending on whether you can meet the monkey.
The walking range is quite narrow

worst. Foreign tourists are 95% and monkeys do not enter hot springs. This is 800 yen is terrible.

Very interesting to see the monkeys swimming in the hot spring. The walk was nice too.

Such a cool experience and no worries, there are more then monkeys for everybody to see and take pictures - a must do!

I visited here on the second day of August with my family. Although it was hot there were lots of monkeys around and going in to the hot water. They are harmless and don't even care about the people around. There is about 15 min walk to get there after the parking area. Be prepaid for the weather. It has amazing view. You can also try to have Japanese onsen here. It was one of the great experiences with the kids.
Check the signs and follow the rules. Have some money with you for the admission fee. Adult 800 kids 400 young ones are free admission. Check my photos to have an idea. Enjoy!

Great place to have on your agenda. We went in early May and there were monkies allover. Unfortunately none in the hot springs as it was quite warm out.
The snow monkey 1 day pass you can buy at Nagano station doesn't have the best instructions.

It s cool and lots of monkey! We walked for 25-35 minutes from public car park. Remember to put on your snow boots if not you need to rent one (1000yen/person). It s slippery when it s snowing or after snow.

It's famous, but really long walk, especially during winter, be prepared, don't wear sneakers while snowing outside, keep warm

It's beautiful and nice and all but there is way too many people. I also feel uncomfortable looking at the monkeys bathe in the hot spring which really changes my perspective of going in a hot spring again. Anyway beautiful. Also, you need to pay to go inside. Which is ridiculous.

It's a little bit of a hike to get in, but it's totally worth it. There are hundreds of snow monkeys, and apparently this is the only place in the world where they hang out in the hot springs. They literally will walk right past you. I watched an adult rob a donut out of a lady's hand. The baby monkeys might just be the cutest thing ever. Nice side trip if you're in the area.

An absolute must if you are visiting Japan in winter!! this was one of the highlights of my trip to Japan. Seeing the Monkeys run around in the snow and interact with each other is so fun and they are absolutely adorable. i could have stayed all day taking pictures of them but sadly i did have to leave. bear in mind that once you reach one of the car parks near the park either by car or bus, you will need to hike to the Park about 2-3 km, the hike is fairly easy and should be fine for everyone but if you are going in winter do wear the right shoes as it can get slippery in places. also you cannot bring any plastic bags into the park as the monkeys think there is food in them and will try and grab them from you. Again highly recommend a visit here it is a great experience.

It s worth living for a long time, and walking on the bumpy snowy road is also a pleasure.

It's fun to see the "wild" monkeys. However, the park is very small and super crowded with tourists.

Monkey's having a bath in the hot spring just like us.

Went there as a half day off during our Shiga-kogen ski trip in Jan 2018. It was a sunny day, no snow, temperature 5degC. The park opens at 9am, and was a 30 min walk from the carpark (no car access, everyone needs to walk).

As it was winter the path was frozen and full of ice/snow leftover. In case you dont have appropriate boots to walk on, there is a shop right at rntrance you can rent these.

Saw many monkeys at the park, some soaked in hotspring, others waiting for the official feeding time by the park staff. Monkeys very cute especially those enjoying the hotspring. Worth the walk.

On November 5, a group of monkeys did not come, but only one came after 10 o'clock. All the visitors, great excitement
When asked to the facility, it is not a herd who always comes, Hagre monkey.
Experience seeing wild animals up close, ugly I also want to go

It's really neat and the monkeys are well taken care of. However, if you have knee, back or feet problem please be aware there is 45 minutes of walking to get to the exhibit and its a lot of steep hills and terrain. But fun and beautiful sights.

It's a very authentic experience as you walk through the snowy forest. The walk takes about 30mins from where the taxis will drop you though its not much of an incline ots fairly flat most of the way. There is a hire shop for snow boots and jackets and the like and also a coffee shop before you start the walk I recommend getting some food as the shop at the monkey springs is just an information center no food no drinks and about 3 plush key chains and a shirt for sale. The monkeys themselves were incredibly cute and mainly fairly placid but there was one that snatched someone's sushi and munched it so if you have anything valuable or food items keep them in a bag on your back. Also worth noting the bad smell though not too bad pretty sure it's sulfur from the greyser there.

The path to the forest is narrow and quite slippery in winter. But overall a good experience

This is a must visit place in Nagano. The transportation is not a problem as they have easy options like buses and trains, to reach the destination. The monkeys inside this park are one unique and beautiful creatures. In order to see them we need to trek around 4 kms in the mountain.

A little bit of a hike that even me, a couchpotato, could do (albeit it wasn't too easy). It's totally worth it! The monkeys are pretty relaxed (though they might attack you if you carry food with you). Worth the hike and rather small entrance fee.

Since it is 1.8 km one way from the parking lot, it may be serious. There was snow, because it was a mountain road, so it seemed that the shoes would fall if there was no slip in the shoes. However, it is worth seeing that the hot springs are blowing out between the valleys, arriving and seeing the monkey's hot spring bath. There were a lot of foreign tourists.

A monkey is seen nearby. I went to summer, but because of the hot weather, there were no monkeys in the hot spring.