Japanese Snow Monkeys and How to Visit

We’ve all seen it, whether you are flipping through pages of a National Geographic magazine or watching a documentary on Animal Planet – the monkeys somewhere in Asia that like to hang out in hot springs during the cold winter months. I’ve known about these monkey’s since I was a child. Honestly, I thought they were high in the mountains somewhere near China or some other country, I had no clue these were Japanese Macaques (Japanese Snow Monkeys) that lived in, you guessed it…Japan! When I moved to Japan in 2019, I made it a goal to visit Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, otherwise known as Snow Monkey Park.

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Japanese Macaques
(Japanese Snow Monkeys)

Japanese Macaques are not just known as Japanese Snow Monkeys, in fact the ones in Jigokudani Yaen-Koen are the only monkeys known to relax in hot springs. The Japanese Macaques can be found throughout the country of Japan from the northern tip of Honshu to Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. Other then humans, the Japanese Macaque is the northern most primate in the world.

Japan, especially northern Japan can get very cold and can endure a lot of snow. The Japanese Snow Monkeys have adapted to this climate by growing long and thick coats of fur to last the winter. During the winter, they huddle together for warmth high in the trees and scavenge for food during the daylight hours.

The monkeys we know that enter the Onsen (hot springs) is somewhat a new phenomena and secluded to one valley, the Yokoyu River Valley, in the Shiga National Park located in the Japan’s Nagano Prefecture.

How Jigokudani Yaen-Koen Became a National Park

Jigokudani Yaen-Koen opened in 1964. It was never meant to be an onsen for monkeys. I read that the onsen was man-made for the intent of a resort, but once complete a rather un-ordinary guest appeared to be relaxing in the warm waters. Ever since then, travelers from around the world have come to see the famous Japanese Snow Monkeys soaking it up in the onsen’s.

The park itself is not big but it is nicely done and gives both visitors and monkeys space. Upon entering the park, you will most likely see monkeys on the trail, in the hills and trees, and chasing each other in the river and surrounding areas. Obviously, the main attraction is the onsen and seeing the monkeys enjoying it. The monkeys tend to spend the nights in the mountains high up in the trees and come to the onsen during the day, when park officials arrive and set food out for them.

Visitors can’t actually get to close to the onsen, there is a divider and somewhat of a platform on the side located slightly above the onsen. But it does offer the best view of the monkeys in the onsen and believe me, you don’t want to get to close to them, generally monkeys are known to be aggressive.

Park Hours and Admission

The park is open year round, and the monkeys will be in the area, but winter months is the best chance for seeing them in the onsen. Remember, with all wildlife, the monkeys may not be present at the time. A friend of mine went during mating season and he didn’t see a single monkey.

Summer Months – 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Winter Months – 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Admission:

¥800 for Adults

¥400 for Children

For more information check out the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen Website. They also have a live camera page, you can check out what the monkeys are up to.

Hiking to and enjoying Snow Monkey Park

Some hotels will offer rides to Snow Monkey Park, which is recommended, but they can only get you so far. There is a trailhead here and one must hike to the park entrance. The trail is 1.6 kilometers and can take about 30 minutes to walk. Due to the elevation and weather, the trail can be muddy, snowy, overgrown, etc.. so make sure to dress appropriately and find out ahead of time what the weather is like before attempting the hike. Most likely, there will be monkeys on or off the trail even before the park, so be cautious.

Once I saw the first monkey on the trail, I instantly felt like a little kid, I mean it’s not every day you see monkey’s in the wild. Jill and I were watching a group of monkeys chase each other and another group cuddled up together, this was all before even getting to the park. After a few more minutes, we arrived at the park right on time, and were first in line. Go early, after an hour or so the park started filling up, fear not there will be more monkeys then humans here and the way it is set up, you get great views of the park and onsen area.

We stayed here for hours just watching the macaques bathe in the onsen and chase each other around the park. There were several babies that were absolutely adorable, it was entertaining watching the little monkeys play and even push each other in the water.

Although cute, monkeys are not the nicest of creatures, several fights broke out, most likely over food or territory and they make these screeching noises when agitated that are quite scary. Please, make sure not to touch or pet the monkeys. It seems tempting because they can be inches in front of you or even run into you or jump on your shoulders, remember they are wild animals and should stay wild.

After our wonderful experience at Snow Monkey Park, Jill and I walked back to town. There are a few trails that head to town, you can back track the same way or head right outside the park to a trail that cuts through the forest hugging the river. On this trail we ran into one monkey, minding his on business, it was quite funny just walking by him/her and carrying on with our hike.

If I am still in Japan for another year, I definitely plan on revisiting Snow Monkey Park, but will most likely come a month earlier, as there will be more snow where you can get that iconic shot of the monkey chillin in the onsen with a blanket of snow. We visited the park in March of 2020. This trip was absolutely spectacular and will forever be one of my most memorable trips.

Getting Here from Tokyo

Jigokudani Yaen-Koen is a world famous attraction and people from around the world come here to see the famous snow monkeys. The Snow Monkey Park is somewhat secluded and does take some planning and travel to get here.

Most travelers will likely fly into Tokyo, so these recommendations are for visitors arriving in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

From the Haneda Airport Terminal 2, take the Tokyo-Monorail Sub Rapid going toward Hamamatsucho and transfer to the Keihintohoku Line Rapid for Omiya toward Tokyo station. Seems like a mouthful but the whole transit from Haneda to Tokyo Station was about 25 minutes including transfers. Once at Tokyo Station, if time allows it, there are plenty of options to sit down and have a meal and a drink.

Nagano, Japan is the biggest city near the Snow Monkey Park, so take the shinkansen (Japan’s High Speed Train) from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station. Once at the Nagano Station, if you are headed directly to Yudanaka (small resort town where the Snow Monkey Park is), take the Zenkoji Temple exit and go to the Nagano Dentetsu Line, here you will enter a slower paced train to Yudanaka. I recommend staying at least a night in Yudanaka, and hiking to the park the very next day, but first enjoy the cute resort town. Yudanaka is home to many beautiful resorts that offer access to several onsens around town.

To sum up how to get to Snow Monkey Park:

Haneda → Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho → Keihintohoku to Omiya → Tokyo Station → Shinkansen to Nagano → Zenkoji Temple Exit → Nagano Dentetsu Line → Yudanaka Station

Our Hotel

I was very much looking forward to visiting the Snow Monkey Park, and it did not disappoint. The whole trip will go down as one of my favorite experiences. Not only was the Snow Monkey Park an amazing experience, but the resort we stayed at made this trip truly memorable.

We stayed at the Shibu Hotel, a traditional Japanese hotel with its own onsen. The hotel went above and beyond my expectations. The rooms were all tatami rooms, overlooking the town and surrounding mountains. They even provided both Jill and myself a Yukata (Japanese Robe) and Getas (wooden shoes) for wandering outside at night. The hotel included both breakfast and dinner, the breakfast took some getting used to as it was not the traditional eggs and toast I am used to but the dinner was absolutely phenomenal. Dinner was a multi-course meal, the variety was spectacular and the presentations and flavors were spot on!

The photos below include one of our dinner and the other photo is us dressed up in our Getas.