Nagano: the snow monkeys in the onsen, Zenko-ji Temple and the town of Shibu Onsen

The photo everyone wants: Japanese macaques sitting in a hot-spring pool in the snow. With a 30-minute forest trail, a 1,400-year-old temple with a dark tunnel, and an onsen town with 9 public baths.

A day from Nagano to the snow monkeys. You start the morning at Zenko-ji Temple, ride the 09:00 express bus to Jigokudani park, walk through the forest to the monkeys, eat lunch at the trailhead and walk down to the onsen town of Shibu. You come back on the Nagaden train from Yudanaka at 16:45 and have dinner at Nagano Station. There are about two hours of walking in it, in snow in winter. The rides: a city bus from Zenko-ji to the station, ¥190, the express bus to the park, ¥2,000, and the train back, ¥1,760. The Snow Monkey pass does not pay off on this route: a one-way bus, admission (¥800) and the train back come to ¥4,560 together, and the bus pass costs ¥4,800 in summer, with the bus in both directions and without the train.

Verified online, September 20267 stops · 07:30 to 19:30¥9,660 · ≈ $61 per personWalking between stops: 135 min · Transport: ¥190Winter (December to March) is bestGood with kids from age 6Walking in snow

The day on a map

5 stops, in order

Stops: 5
Walking minutes: 55

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: You start at Zenko-ji Temple at 07:30, so this day suits those sleeping in Nagano. From Tokyo: the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano, the Kagayaki in an hour and 20 minutes, ¥8,450 with a reserved seat (covered by the JR Pass). From Nagano Station to Zenko-ji: a bus from the Zenkoji Exit to the Zenkoji Daimon stop, about a quarter of an hour, ¥190, and from there 5 minutes on foot, or about half an hour on foot all the way. Tickets: the bus 'Snow Monkey Pass' (express bus round trip and park admission) costs ¥4,800 in summer and cost ¥6,800 in winter 2025-2026. The train 'Snow Monkey Pass' (Nagaden trains, the local bus from Yudanaka round trip and admission) cost ¥4,800 and was sold until 30 September 2026, and the Nagaden ticket page has no winter version yet. From August 2026 you can buy a dated admission ticket on the park's website.

07:3008:30
Stop 1TempleMust
Zenko-ji Temple: the morning prayer and the dark tunnel
You start at the temple the city was built around, from the 7th century, with a Buddha no one has ever seen. The morning service (o-asaji) starts early: at 05:30 in summer and at 07:00 in winter. On the way to it and back, the head priest blesses with a rosary those who kneel in the street in front of the hall, so if you want the blessing, arrive before the service starts. Under the altar there is a pitch-black tunnel where you feel with your hand for the 'key to paradise'. Entry to the inner area is ¥800, and it opens an hour before the service. On the main street in front of the temple they sell oyaki, Nagano's baked dumplings.
¥800 · ≈ $5Open in Maps
Down to Nagano Station
- Bus · 30 min · ¥190Walk down the temple street to the Zenkoji Daimon stop, about 5 minutes, and ride the Alpico bus to Nagano Station, 14 minutes. The bus stops at the Zenkoji Exit, and the monkey bus leaves from the East Exit, so you cross through the station, about 5 minutes.
- or: Train · 30 min · ¥210A 12-minute walk to Zenkojishita Station, and the Nagaden train to Nagano Station, 6 minutes. From there cross the JR station to the East Exit.
- or: Walk · 35 minOn foot all the way, south along Chuo-dori to the station and through it to the East Exit, about 2.6 km.
09:0009:50
BusMust
Snow Monkey Park bus stop Kanbayashi: the monkey bus to Kanbayashi Onsen
From the East Exit of Nagano Station, the Nagaden express bus to Shiga Kogen leaves at 09:00 and reaches the 'Snow Monkey Park' stop at 09:50. ¥2,000, no reservation. On weekends and holidays there is also a bus at 08:30, and on it you pay cashless. This timetable is valid until 4 December 2026, and in winter there is a different timetable and a higher price (¥3,000 in winter 2025-2026). From the stop you walk 35 minutes, 1.6 km of it on a forest trail. In winter it is snowy and slippery, so wear shoes with grip or small crampons (¥500 at the shop at the trailhead). Strollers cannot get through.
¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in Maps
Through the forest to the monkeys
- Walk · 35 minFrom the stop, walk up about 10 minutes to the start of the trail, next to ENZA Cafe, and continue on the forest trail along the valley to the park gate.
10:2511:40
Stop 2Nature and wildlifeMust
Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park: the macaques in the onsen
About 160 wild macaques that come down from the mountain to a pool built for them. They come for the food the staff scatters, so they are almost always there, but they get into the water mainly when it is cold, from December to March. In summer there are fewer monkeys and less magic, but it is still worth it. Admission is ¥800, and since August 2026 there is a dated ticket on the website, up to 3 months in advance, which is worth buying in winter. From April to October it is open 08:30 to 17:00, and from November to March 09:00 to 16:00. Do not touch, do not look the monkeys in the eye, and do not take out food.
¥800 · ≈ $5Open in Maps
Back to the trailhead
- Walk · 35 minBack along the same forest trail to ENZA Cafe, at the trailhead.
12:1513:15
Stop 3LunchRecommended
Lunch break at the trailhead
At the trailhead, after an hour and a half of walking in snow or mud, you sit down to eat. In winter, a cup of hot sake. If you prefer, continue 20 minutes on foot to Shibu Onsen and eat there. The options:
- ENZA Cafe
  The cafe closest to the park, right before the trail and about 10 minutes from the bus stop: chicken ramen in winter, burgers in summer, coffee and local beers.
- Rausuan¥1,000 to ¥2,000
  A handmade soba restaurant, a minute from the Kanbayashi bus stop. 11:30 to 15:00, irregular closing days, no reservations, cash only.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,500 · ≈ $10Open in Maps
Down to Shibu Onsen
- Walk · 20 minFrom the trailhead, walk down west to Shibu Onsen, about 1.6 km.
- or: Bus · 15 min · ¥250The Nagaden local bus, Kanbayashi Line, from the Snow Monkey Park stop to Shibu Onsen, 4 minutes. The buses are far apart: around midday there is one at 12:10 and one at 13:50.
13:3015:30
Stop 4Onsen townRecommended
Shibu Onsen: 9 public baths and the street of ryokan
A 1,300-year-old onsen town with a stone street, wooden ryokan and 9 public baths (soto-yu) that open with a key you get at your ryokan. Day visitors can enter only one, number 9, O-yu: ¥800, 10:00 to 17:00. If you sleep here, you walk in yukata and wooden sandals from bath to bath, and that is the high point of the trip. The Kanaguya ryokan, which many link to the Ghibli films, is close by.
¥800 · ≈ $5Open in Maps
Down to Yudanaka Station
- Walk · 25 minFrom Shibu's stone street west and across the river to Yudanaka Station, about 2 km.
- or: Bus · 10 min · ¥250The local bus, Kanbayashi Line, from the Shibu Onsen stop at 16:19 to Yudanaka Station, 10 minutes, arriving before the 16:45 train.
16:3017:30
TrainMust
Yudanaka Station: the Nagaden train to Nagano in the old carriages
Behind Yudanaka Station, facing the Kaede no Yu bathhouse, there is a free foot bath, and that is the day's rest while you wait. The bathhouse itself is ¥500, 10:00 to 21:00, closed on the first Tuesday of the month. The 'Snow Monkey' limited express leaves at 16:45 and reaches Nagano at 17:34: ¥1,660 plus a ¥100 surcharge for a non-reserved seat, or ¥400 for a reserved seat. The 'Yukemuri' limited express, in old Romancecar carriages bought from Tokyo with a panoramic window, leaves at 15:34 and at 17:51. A regular train, with a change at Shinshu-Nakano, takes about an hour and twenty minutes.
¥1,760 · ≈ $11Open in Maps
Up to the MIDORI building
- Walk · 10 minThe train stops at the underground Nagaden station, by the Zenkoji Exit. Go up to the street and into the MIDORI building, attached to the JR station.
18:0019:30
Stop 5DinnerRecommended
Dinner at Nagano Station
You finish in the MIDORI building at the station, and from here you go back to the hotel or board the shinkansen. On the 3rd floor there are Nagano soba restaurants, and on the 2nd floor a sake shop of Nagano breweries with tastings, and oyaki filled with mountain vegetables for the road. If you are going on to Tokyo tonight, take a bento for the shinkansen: the Kagayaki in an hour and 20 minutes, the Asama in an hour and 40 to 50 minutes. MIDORI is closed on 10 November 2026 and 1 January 2027. The options:
- Kusabue
  On the 3rd floor: handmade soba from buckwheat the restaurant grows itself in Nagano. 11:00 to 22:00.
- Miyota
  On the 3rd floor: soba and dishes of seasonal vegetables, mountain vegetables and Nagano fish. 11:00 to 22:00.
- Nakajima Kaikan
  On the 2nd floor: standing soba that brings back the taste of the soba stand that ran in the station until 2007. Fast and cheap, 07:00 to 20:00.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in Maps

Nagano: the snow monkeys in the onsen, Zenko-ji Temple and the town of Shibu Onsen

5 stops, in order

Zenko-ji Temple: the morning prayer and the dark tunnel

Snow Monkey Park bus stop Kanbayashi: the monkey bus to Kanbayashi Onsen

Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park: the macaques in the onsen

Lunch break at the trailhead

Shibu Onsen: 9 public baths and the street of ryokan

Yudanaka Station: the Nagaden train to Nagano in the old carriages

Dinner at Nagano Station

Nozawa Onsen: a ski day above an onsen village, and a free soak at Oyu to finish

Tateyama Kurobe: crossing the Japanese Alps from Toyama to Nagano in one day

GALA Yuzawa: a ski day from Tokyo, with no luggage and no gear

The Nakasendo trail: Magome to Tsumago, 8 km on the samurai road

Kamikochi: the Japanese Alps valley, from Taisho Pond to Hotaka Shrine

Hakuba: skiing the Olympic runs of Happo-One and an alkaline onsen