The Jigokudani Monkey Park (, Jigokudani Yaen Ken) 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.
Zenk-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Nagano, Japan. The temple was built in the 7th century. The modern city of Nagano began as a town built around the temple.
Obuse is a small historic town in Nagano.
Full-Day Private Nagano Tour: Zenkoji Temple, Obuse, Jigokudani Monkey Park - Nagano-shi
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Tour Information
Key Details
- Mobile Voucher Accepted
- Hotel pickup Available
- Duration: 8 Hrs
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Language:
English
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Departure Time :
08:45 AM
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Return Details :
• Children must be accompanied by an adult • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel • A moderate amount of walking is involved • Comfortable walking shoes are recommen.. read more
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Cancellation Policy : This activity is non-refundable Tours booked using discount coupon codes will be non refundable.
Overview
On this tour, spend a full-day in Nagano exploring the city and enjoying what this quaint town has to offer. Your English-speaking tour guide will pick you up from your hotel or Nagano Train Station at 8:45 AM. You will either take public transportation (train and bus) or private chartered vehicle around town based on your booking.Immerse yourself in the city's culture andvisit major Nagano attractions such as Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park, the famous Zenkoji Temple, Chikuma River, Obuse Town, and relax in a traditionalonsen/ hot spring (optional).
Know More about this tour
Itinerary:
The Jigokudani Monkey Park (地獄谷野猿公苑, Jigokudani Yaen Kōen) 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.
Zenkō-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Nagano, Japan. The temple was built in the 7th century. The modern city of Nagano began as a town built around the temple.
Obuse is a small historic town in Nagano.
Inclusions
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels within Central Nagano only)
- Private tour with English-speaking (or other available language) tour guide
- Fuel surcharge
- Transportation within Nagano City
Exclusions
- Food and drinks
- Onsen (hot spring) fee: 700 JPY per person
- Other optional activities for guests .
- Entrance fee to Zenko-ji Temple, Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park for the guests
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Minimum of 2 Adults per booking is required
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Wheelchair accessible at most places (not including Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park)
For this tour, if we provide train tickets: we will send train tickets to the guests hotel in Tokyo (the hotel which guests are staying at before their Nagano trip). Please provide: 1) Hotel Name in Tokyo, 2) Guest Name who booked the hotel, 3) Confirmation Number, and 4) Dates of Stay at the hotel in Tokyo.
Snow Monkeys in warmer seasons: The snow starts to melt in March, and the snow monkeys may not bathe as often as they did in the winter to keep warm. Guests may see the snow monkeys taking a swim as the park staff gives them lunch, but unlike winter months, there are definitely days when the monkeys just do not feel like entering the bath. When it is warm and the sun is out, the monkeys tend to be more active and move around the area. The monkeys are more likely to be grooming in the warmer seasons. While Winter is not the only time to see snow monkeys, please note that they are wild animals and it is difficult to predict their behavior. You can still visit the Snow Monkey Park, but seeing the snow monkeys and watching them bathe is not always guaranteed.
Guests must provide information (name, age) of each guest. A current valid passport is required on the day of travel.
Age Requirement: Guests of all ages can attend this tour, but a booking must be made for each person. Adult pricing applies to guests age 12 to 99. Child pricing applies to guests age 6 11. Young child pricing applies to guests age 1 5. In this private group tour, there must be at least one person that is 18 years or older.
Standard Cancellation Policy:
Cancellation fee of 100% is charged if cancelled 7 days or less before the event
Cancellation fee of 50% is charged if cancelled 14 days or less before the event
Cancellation fee of 25% is charged if cancelled 20 days or less before the event
PLEASE FILL OUT THE TOUR FORM: After your booking, you will receive a link to the Nagano Form (within 48 hours) that asks for pertinent information required for this booking. Please ensure that this Nagano Form is completed accurately at least 7 days before your tour date.
Once youve booked the Nagano Full Day Tour with Japan Awaits youll receive a form with a variety of itinerary options to suit your vehicle option and essential information to complete your booking.
How far in advance should I book?Preparing a customized tour requires some time, especially if reservations for restaurants or other venues are required. We recommend making a reservation as early as possible. Ideally, it should be 3 months before your travel date, or 1 month before the travel date at the very least. For Custom Tour bookings that are requested with less than 7 days before the travel date, we may not be able to arrange your custom tour in time so your booking request may be cancelled and you will receive a full refund.
Why am I charged a service fee if I make a cancellation after you started planning the trip?
Organizing and planning a trip requires a lot of time and if we have made reservations on your behalf, it may be very challenging to cancel some booking requests. Once we receive your booking and your answers from the Custom Tour form, we will begin putting together your Itinerary Sheet and will start arranging your tour guide, buying tickets, making reservations at venues for your tour, etc.
If you cancel the tour any time after we have sent you the custom Itinerary Sheet, the service fee of 15% of your total tour cost will be nonrefundable.
If your cancellation falls within the fees applied to the Standard Cancellation Policy, the service fee of 15% will no longer take effect. You will only be responsible for the cancellation fee specified in the Standard Cancellation Policy. Please carefully review the terms and conditions specified on the checkout page.
Although this is a private tour, the tour guide will only wait for you for up to 30 minutes of start time before the tour is cancelled
Face masks required for travellers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Face masks provided for travellers
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Regular temperature checks for staff
Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
Traveler Reviews
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Mutsumi was a great tour guide! She was informative and very easy to spend a day with! She explained all the history and significance of each spot we visited. The monkey park was inceredibkw highlight of our entire trip to Japan. They were so close and accessible we could not have had a better up close experience. The Zenjoki temple was also breathtaking. Understanding the history and importance of that site was truly impactful. The temple grounds were so impressive and peaceful. Highly recommend this tour and Mutsumi in particular. She was great!
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Mr. Hori was a knowledgeable guide and gave an excellent explanation of the snow monkey park and took us to Obuse as well. He showed us the little gardens behind houses in Obuse as well. He is very punctual and great with children. The snow monkey park is great! Even in the middle of summer, there were a ton of Japanese macaques out and about. Think of a good question or two to have Mr. Hori ask the park ranger.
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Truly a full day exploring Jigokudani and Obuse. Mr. Hiro was our guide for the day and met us at our ryokan. He is from the neighboring city to Nagano called Suzaka and is very familiar with the surrounding area. He was like a kind grandpa with our two kids (aged 7 & 9). He is very, very punctual. He gave plenty of insight on the different areas of Nagano. Jigokudani was certainly the highlight of the trip. The monkeys were very cute and entertaining. Mr. Hiro asked several questions for us to the groundskeeper. Lots of great photo ops and a neat little gift shop. We had a ramen lunch nearby. Obuse was a pleasant little town. We went to the museum that showcased Hokudai’s work. Definitely a quaint area that can be seen in a half a day at most. Overall a great experience.
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This was such a fantastic experience. Our guide Horiuchi "Hori" was amazing; friendly, knowledgeable, engaging, and patient. We took a wonderful stroll around picturesque Obuse town, took in the Hokusai gallery, sipped sake at a 300 year old brewery, and had lunch in a beautiful old restaurant. After that we made our way to Snow Monkey Park for a wander amongst the spectacular cedar forests before we got to see the stars of the show, the macaques who were roaming free and happy. This is not a zoo and it was a great privilege to walk amongst these enigmatic creatures. All in all a simply wonderful day. In the evening we stayed in the ryokan, another unique and wonderful experience that we loved. I can highly recommend this experience if you have the time, it was magical.
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We booked a private full day tour of Nagano city with Japan Awaits. Masaru was our guide. He’s not only enthusiastic and energetic, he’s a wonderful and most considerate person to see the snow monkeys, took us to a public foot bath in yudanaka, and lunch at a good ramen restaurant. Then we explored Obuse town, sampled delicious chestnut sweets, sake tasting, visited the Hokusai museum and stopped at Gansho-ji temple before heading to Zenkoji temple back in Nagano. There was a lot to pack in a day and Masaru managed to do this with much grace and flexibility! We highly recommend Japan Awaits with Masaru!
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A wonderful day and private tour. Our guide Horiuchi (Hori) was a very traditional Japanese gentleman. We was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. He stayed with us to make sure we got the most out of our tour but also gave us time just to wander by ourselves so a great balance. We paid extra to a pick up and drop off from Hakuba and it was worth it and made the day so easy and our driver stayed with the car so we could leave our gear in the car. We love the monkeys and forest walk. So a noodle lunch at Sakurai-Kanseido SenseKitei was really lovely and the restaurant looked over a beautiful japanese garden. Obuse town is gorgeous. A sake tasting and the museum of lovely with a great exhibition from the famous artist Hokusai. We also strolled around and got some local goodies to take home. Zenkoji Temple was the last part of our tour and really worth the visit. Our driver even allowed us to stop briefly at a convenience store on the way back to Hakuba to get some provisions. Overall a wonderful day and would highly recommend this tour and our guide Hori.
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Booked the private tour and was greeted by Chihiro (Hiro) at the meeting point near the information center. The good thing about using the private tour was that we could adjust the timing to suit our needs and need not rush. Spent more than 2 hours at Jigokudani as it was the highlight of the tour. Hiro was quite informative and helpful in assisting with our needs.
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the tour was excellent, our guide was Fumiko and she is a very good one. I totally recommend her. She explained everything very well to us and she made us visit unusual places. She was very kindly
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The monkeys were incredible and the scenery fantastic. Our guide Fumiko and her friend were great. We are older and they adjusted pace and level of assistance accordingly. Couldn’t have done it without them. Many thanks
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Our tour guide, Emi was absolutely wonderful! So kind and full of knowledge. The visit to see the snow monkeys was an unforgettable experience-felt like you were in a National Geographic magazine! I highly recommend booking this activity.
