Jigokudani Monkey Park: the trail, the pool, the rules

A valley named for hell

Jigokudani Yaen-koen, which visitors call the Snow Monkey Park, opened in 1964 in the valley of the Yokoyu River above the hot-spring villages of Shibu Onsen and Kanbayashi Onsen, in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture. It sits at about 2,800 ft (850 m), inside Joshin'etsu-kogen National Park and below the Shiga Kogen ski area. The name means hell valley, after the steam vents and boiling springs that hiss out of the gorge, and on a cold morning the steam hangs over the whole scene. The park itself is small: a path along the river, the pool, a few viewing spots and a cabin for the staff.

Why the troop comes down

The monkeys are wild Japanese macaques, one troop of well over a hundred, and nothing fences them in. They come down from the forest most days because park staff put out food for them, soybeans and grain with apples now and then, scattered so the troop forages rather than queues. At night they go back up the slopes. The pool was built for the monkeys, not for people, after the troop started using a ryokan's outdoor bath nearby; why the snow monkeys bathe tells that story.

Bathing is never guaranteed. In cold weather, roughly December to March, monkeys sit in the water most days, and that is when the famous photos are taken. Outside winter the troop sits beside the water rather than in it. H.I.S. puts it plainly on its own listing, where most of the day is said to pass on dry rock. Even seeing the troop is very likely rather than promised, and if the monkeys stay in the forest no operator refunds you. Our month-by-month guide says which weeks are safest for the pool.

Hours and entry

The park opens roughly 8:30 am to 5 pm from April to October and 9 am to 4 pm from November to March, and closes only in extreme weather. Entry is about ¥800 for adults and about ¥400 for children, paid in cash at the gate. Both coaches and the JTB Shinkansen tour include the ticket; the private cars do not, so carry yen. What a snow monkey tour costs adds the extras up.

The trail

From the parking and bus stop at Kanbayashi Onsen, a trail of about 1 mile (1.6 km) runs through cedar forest to the entrance, 25–40 minutes for most people, with stairs in places. It is muddy in the thaw and icy in winter, when crampons or rubber grips make the difference between walking and sliding; the H.I.S. coach sells crampons on board, and reviewers have rented boots and grips near the trailhead. Strollers are out, and tours 1 and 2 exclude wheelchair users for the same reason. Reviewers describe it as a walk in the woods rather than a hike, though one on the JTB tour, whose groups start farther down at the Shiga Kogen Roman Museum, called the 50-minute climb uphill and said it needs some fitness.

Keep the day bag small, because the trail has no lockers, and leave anything heavy in the coach or car. At the entrance a small cafe sells drinks and snacks, and several reviewers rate the apple pie. Past the ticket window a path follows the river to the pool, and the monkeys use the same path, so expect to step aside. What to wear and bring covers boots, layers, hand warmers and the camera.

The rules

The park keeps the monkeys wild by keeping people at a distance, and every tour repeats the rules on the way up. They are short.

• Do not feed the monkeys, and keep food and plastic bags out of sight; a JTB reviewer was told no food at all, even inside a bag
• Do not touch them, and keep a few feet away even when they walk past your boots
• Do not stare into their eyes; macaques read a fixed look as a threat
• No selfie sticks near the monkeys, and no drones anywhere in the park
• No pets

Monkeys ignore people who follow these, and they will pass through a crowd without stopping. A phone on a strap and a camera with a zoom get you close enough.

How long each tour gives you

Time at the park is where the tours differ most, from under an hour to 2.5 hours, with the walk counted on some listings and not on others.

The H.I.S. coach, from ~$150, gives about 2 hours between leaving the parking and getting back on, which some reviewers found short and others found enough. JTB's Shinkansen tour, from ~$293, allows the most. Zameer Haider's private car, from ~$127 per person, plans 2 hours and can stretch them if you drop the extra stop, while Luxurious Travel Master, from ~$535 per group, schedules about an hour, which leaves room for more Nagano stops. The shortest visit is on the Shinjuku buffet coach, from ~$130, where the catch is 40–60 minutes at the park, about enough to walk in and out with a short stay at the pool. If you are already in Nagano, Yadoroku's 6–7-hour tour with Shibu Onsen and a soba lunch, from ~$130, has the admission built in; its catch is the Nagano start, which leaves the Shinkansen from Tokyo to you.

Planning around the park

Most tours reach the pool late morning or early afternoon, when the trail is busiest. Leave Tokyo by private car at 6 or 7 am and you arrive before the coaches and, in summer, before the heat, as one reviewer advised. Tokyo to Jigokudani compares all three ways up, and private snow monkey tours explains what a car of your own changes. Families should read snow monkeys with kids before committing to the trail with small children.