Nagano is where most of the snow monkey tours begin. The group tours from the station share the park and differ in what fills the rest of the day.
The short answer
The usual snow monkey tour from Nagano Station is the Machinovate day with Zenko-ji temple, a sake tasting, lunch and the park ticket included. Pick the o8Experience tour if you would like to see the small town of Obuse and a sake brewery instead, and the Shiga Kogen tour if you want time in the snow as well. None of them includes the Shinkansen from Tokyo, which takes about 80 minutes.
Pick the day you want to see the monkeys, or the first and last day of your trip. We look at the booking calendar of every tour from Tokyo, Nagano and the ski resorts and list the ones that still take bookings.
Starts at: Nagano Station or Hakuba
Duration: 8 h
Starts at: Nagano
Starts at: Nagano
From Nagano the drive to the trailhead at Kanbayashi Onsen is short compared with the motorway from Tokyo, so these tours have time for a second theme. That theme is the real choice: temple and sake, a small town and its brewery, or a ski area.
| Photo | Tour | Starts at | Besides the park | Length of the day | Park ticket | Lunch | Reviews ↕ | Price ↕ | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji and Sake Machinovate Japan Ltd | Nagano Station or Hakuba | Zenko-ji with a guide, sake tasting | 8 to 12 h | Included | Included, vegetarian possible | ★ 4.9 (992) | $137per person | Book now |
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Private Nagano Day Tour Japan Awaits | Not stated | Private, stops on the booking page | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | ★ 5.0 (76) | $330 | Book now |
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Snow Monkeys and Snow Fun in Shiga Kogen Machinovate Japan Ltd | Nagano Station, Kokusai 21 | Snow play in Shiga Kogen | About 9 h | Not stated | Lunch | ★ 5.0 (55) | $163per person | Book now |
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Snow Monkey Park, Obuse and Sake o8Experience | Nagano | Obuse, Masuichi-Ichimura brewery, Zenko-ji | About 7 h | Not stated | Not stated | ★ 5.0 (11) | $156per person | Book now |
Each price is the one GetYourGuide or Viator shows right now, taxes and fees included. Shared tours are charged per person and private tours usually per vehicle; the line under the price tells you which.
Open a card for the start point, the stops and what the tour leaves out.
Zenko-ji with a guide, sake tasting, lunch and the park ticket. From Nagano Station, or by winter shuttle from Hakuba.
A group day trip that starts in Nagano, not in Tokyo. Pickup is at Nagano Station or, for skiers, at hotels in Hakuba. The day combines Zenko-ji temple in Nagano city, a sake tasting, lunch and the walk to the monkey pools at Jigokudani.
Guests coming from Tokyo take the Shinkansen to Nagano on their own; the train is not part of the tour.
Nagano Station, or hotel pickup in Hakuba (Happo area) for the Hakuba option.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
A private day for your own group in Nagano prefecture; pickup and stops are on the booking page.
A private day in Nagano prefecture by Japan Awaits. The pickup point and the stops are listed on the booking page.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
From the Kokusai 21 area at Nagano Station to the park and on to the snow of Shiga Kogen, about nine hours.
A winter day from Nagano Station that pairs the monkey park with time in the snow at Shiga Kogen. The itinerary passes Yudanaka on the way.
The meeting point is the Kokusai 21 area at Nagano Station.
Nagano Station (Kokusai 21).
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
About seven hours: the park, the town of Obuse with the Masuichi-Ichimura brewery, and Zenko-ji.
A day from Nagano that adds the small town of Obuse to the monkey park. The itinerary lists the Masuichi-Ichimura sake brewery and Zenko-ji temple.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
Where each tour starts and ends, how you get there from Tokyo, the time at the park and whether ticket and lunch are part of it. "Not stated" means the listing does not say.
| Tour | Starts at | From Tokyo | Whole trip | Time at the park | Ends at | Park ticket | Lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple and Sake Day Trip from Nagano | Nagano Station or Hakuba | Shinkansen to Nagano on your own | 8–12 h | 3 h | Back at the start point | Included | Lunch |
| Private Nagano Day Tour with the Snow Monkeys | Not stated | Not stated | 8 h | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Snow Monkeys and Snow Fun in Shiga Kogen | Nagano | Shinkansen to Nagano on your own | 9 h | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Lunch |
| Snow Monkey Park, Obuse and Sake Tasting Day Tour | Nagano | Shinkansen to Nagano on your own | 7 h | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
Taken from the tour listings, checked in November 2026. The length of the whole day is the operator's figure.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen runs from Tokyo Station to Nagano in about 80 minutes on the fastest trains. The JR Pass covers the line, and the Kagayaki trains take reserved seats only. Book your return for after the tour has finished in the late afternoon rather than on the minute the listing gives, because snow on the mountain roads can stretch the day. If you would rather have someone else plan the train too, the bullet-train page compares that with the private tour by Shinkansen.
The Machinovate tour is the one most people book. Its guide takes you round Zenko-ji temple in Nagano city; the inner sanctuary costs extra and is not part of the tour. A sake tasting and lunch follow, with a vegetarian lunch on request, and the listing also shows an unnamed stop it calls a secret stop. The park entrance is included, so there is nothing to buy at the gate. People with limited mobility are not accepted on this tour, which says a lot about the path to the pool. More on the temple combinations is on the Zenko-ji and sake page.
o8Experience swaps the sake tasting for the small town of Obuse and the Masuichi-Ichimura brewery there, and still stops at Zenko-ji. At about seven hours it is the shortest of the full-day options from Nagano, which leaves an evening in the city or an earlier train back to Tokyo.
The second Machinovate tour meets at the Kokusai 21 area of Nagano Station, passes Yudanaka and adds Shiga Kogen, a ski area above the valley, to the park. It suits families and anyone who wants to be out in the snow for a while without skiing. The Shiga Kogen day in detail.
Of the tours on this site, only one private day is based in Nagano. The pickup point and the stops are given on the booking page, not in our notes. For private cars from Tokyo or Hakuba see the private tours compared.
From 4 April to 19 June 2027 Zenko-ji holds its Gokaicho, which comes round every seven years. Trains, roads and hotels in Nagano will be busy in those weeks, so book the Shinkansen and a room early if your trip falls then.
Reviews of the tours from Nagano Station mostly talk about the forest walk and the monkeys. The critical ones mention a full minibus without headsets, a short temple stop and an autumn day without monkeys. That last point is not down to the operator: in the mating season in October and November the monkeys may stay in the forest, so pick the winter months if the monkeys are the reason for the trip.
“Spectacular full day tour. Amazing time spent with the snow monkeys. … Beautiful scenery and a pleasant walk through the forest up to the snow monkey thermal spring area. We saw at least 100 monkeys including very cute baby monkeys, Our guide was very friendly, engaging and knowledgeable, and gave us clear instruction. Transport was very comfortable . Lunch was delicious …”
“The snow scooters at the park were very fun, and lunch was great! The snow monkey park was absolutely beautiful, and the monkeys made it even better. My husband and I enjoyed the hike itself as much as we enjoyed watching the monkeys. … We did this as a day trip from Tokyo and highly recommend!”
“Masa and Taina were amazing hosts, the monkeys were entertaining and adorable, lunch was excellent, Obuse was quaint and lovely. All this despite the 32C and humid weather! …”
“We were a diverse group of about 18. We had about a 20 seater bus with our backpacks which was cramped. A group of this size really needs headsets to hear just what the guide is saying. … Zenkoji Temple and sake tasting just seemed to be day fillers. Lunch was adequate and ready when we got there, which was good. Be warned there is a 1.6 km walk into the monkey park which could be a challenge for some.”
“A very long day and in the end we didn't see a single monkey. The sake tasting was interesting, lunch delicious and the guide nice. But the risk is too great of tying up a whole day without knowing in advance whether there will be monkeys or not. …”
Real traveller reviews from GetYourGuide.
The Machinovate tours start at Nagano Station; the Shiga Kogen tour meets in the Kokusai 21 area there. The o8Experience tour starts in Nagano, and the exact meeting point is on the booking page.
No. You buy the train to Nagano yourself. The fastest trains take about 80 minutes, the JR Pass is valid, and Kagayaki trains need a reserved seat.
On the Machinovate tour with Zenko-ji and sake, yes, and lunch too. For the Obuse tour and the Shiga Kogen tour the listings do not say, so check the inclusions before you book.
Yes, and it takes the pressure off the train times. Stay near the station, since that is where the tours meet. During the Gokaicho at Zenko-ji in spring 2027, book early.
Coach, private car and the tours from the ski resorts in one table.
See the comparison